Nico's Dark Task
by AgnesDue
Summary: After the war against Gaea ended, Nico felt restless, his body yearning to travel. He receives a task from his father and sets out on a dark adventure, where he will meet Anubis, the Egyptian god of Death. Anubico
1. Chapter 1

After the war against Gaea ended, Nico found himself at a loss of things to do. He stayed at Camp Half-Blood for a while but as always, all good things has to come to an end. He grew further apart from his friends, even Will, whom had seemed like he would stay as Nico's friend for a long time, drifted away, back to his best friend Jake Mason.

Percy and Annabeth both stuck together, closer than ever after the events in Tartarus. Nico knew how they felt, he'd been there too, the only difference was that he'd been alone. He had a feeling that his trip through Tartarus had made his darker thoughts resurface, the thoughts he hadn't thought for years. He also figured that his darker demeanour was something that made him push people away from him more so than before. Percy had picked up on his solitude faster than most, even faster than Jason – but that was to be expected, since he was never around anymore. However, it was too late for Percy to change anything about the son of Hades, he was already too closed up for him to get him out of his shell. He'd seemed sad enough when Nico finally said goodbye to them, probably for good – after telling the elder about his feelings, Nico didn't have anything holding him back.

He had no idea where to go or what to do, he just had to get away from the place where no one needed him, where probably no one cared about him either. So, as he wandered into the forest, the shadows welcoming him with their comforting darkness, he did the only logical thing; travelled to the Underworld.

Looking around, Nico stretched his back, hearing a pop as he did so. The ever-present stench of sulphur stung his nose, it had been a while since he'd been in the Underworld and he had almost forgotten the smell.

Nico pulled out his Stygian Iron sword and started walking towards Hades' palace. A few monsters peeked their heads out as he passed - they lunged for him, which resulted in their heads being chopped off, their essence being absorbed by the black blade.

"You'd think they'd learned something over the thousands of years they've been around, but no~ They just get dumber each day," Nico grumbled as he pulverised another monster. He walked on and soon heard the distant barking of Cerberus. The sorting station came into view and he walked through the waiting souls, each one of them moving out of his way -there were a few perks about being the son of Hades.

The giant three-headed dog wagged its tail excitedly when it spotted him, and Nico smiled to himself. He walked up to Cerberus and stretched his hand out. The dog lowered one of its heads and nuzzles his palm, the other heads snapping at it and whined at not getting attention.

"Now, none of that. There's enough Nico for all of you," he scolded the dog, and the other heads stopped their yapping. He took his time petting each head before he bid Cerberus farewell and started heading for his father's home again. He could hear the three-headed dog whining behind him as e walked, and he smiled again.

He walked on, past the fields of Asphodel and the fields of Punishment. He spotted his father's mansion in the distance, clouds of darkness swirling above it. Nico rolled his eyes, Hades always had to exaggerate the whole Lord of the Underworld thing - "I do have a reputation to uphold, son. You would not understand." - sure, everybody cared about the swirling clouds, they were _very_ important.

Once inside the palace, Nico made his way to the throne room, only to find that his father was absent. Persephone sat in her smaller throne and smiled coldly at him.

"Hello, Nico. I hope you are well."

Nico ignored her comment, "Where's dad?"

"That is none of your concern, boy," Persephone's calm tone disappeared for a moment before she caught herself. "He is absent, as you can see. I am to look after the palace in his place."

That fact meant that Nico was to do what Persephone said, and he would not put up with that. He was about to say something, when a dark figure emerged from the shadows on the throne, Hades stepping out as the darkness dissipated. He looked slightly surprised to see Nico but quickly regained his composure.

"Nico, I was not aware of the fact that you would be arriving," the Lord of the Underworld said, placing his black helmet down beside his throne.

Nico bowed before replying, "I'm sorry for not informing you beforehand, father, it was a rather sudden decision."

"It matters not. I sense you are troubled, do speak up." Hades sat down in his throne and beckoned Nico forward with a wave of his hand. "Persephone, I must ask you to leave, I know for a fact this is not for your ears."

Persephone looked possibly furious, but she knew her place, and lowered her head, "Of course, my love." She got up from her chair, sent Nico a withering glare and left the throne room, dark flower petals loosening from her dress in the process.

Nico walked forward a few steps, stopping about two feet in front of the steps leading up to his father's throne. He lowered his head, "What is it you wish to know, father?"

"Do spare me the idle chatter, son, out with it."

The demigod was silent for a moment, "I have left Camp Half-Blood, probably for good. I feel as if though my friends have deserted me."

Hades sighed, "This is something expected of a child of Hades. Do not blame yourself, son, it is them who are at fault. They do not see or appreciate your talents, weren't it or you, many of them would be in the Underworld at this moment. Do not underestimate or think lowly of yourself, my son, if they do not respect who you are, they do not deserve your affections."

Nico looked up, surprised by Hades' words. The god's eyes were filled with anger but also sadness - Nico hoped the anger was directed at the other half-bloods and the sadness at him. "Thank you, father." Nico smiled at Hades and saw the other's eyes flicker slightly, as if not knowing where to focus.

"Nico, I have something to ask of you," Hades started. Nico raised his eyebrows, gesturing his father to continue. "Since you are no longer participating in quests in Camp Half-Blood, I would like for you to take on a task."

"Might I ask what this task involves?"

"I want you to gather information, as well as deal with a few cases where someone has, what do you call it, 'cheated' death. These people should be in the Underworld, most of them in the Field of Punishment. I want you to harvest their souls."

"You mean, kill them?" Nico asked -Hades liked using big words with simple meanings.

"... Yes. You would need to take their life with a special dagger. Its metal will absorb their essence and keep it locked in until I bring it out here in the Underworld. Do whatever you want with them before you fully take their life, but do not make use of your sword, as I cannot utilise the soul once absorbed in the Stygian Iron blade," Hades finished, his eyes pinning Nico to the spot.

"I understand, father. I will do as you wish," the demigod said as he lowered his head and bowed for the god.

"Keep in mind that some of these individuals seem harmless, but do not be fooled, for they are good actors. Most of them will be demigods, however, some of them will be human. You may kill any monster that might get in your way. You may also use any means to extract information, you may even kill them afterwards if it proves necessary, some you _do_ have to kill, as they will tell others of you, and we can't have them recognise you as you come to take their life."

Nico nodded, he'd thought as much, "I am grateful for this task. Thank you, father."

"Good. You are dismissed."

The demigod bowed before he turned around and left the throne room, a smile playing on his lips – after all, this sort of task was what he was best at handling, and also the sort he liked best.

* * *

[Last edited: 11.08.2017]


	2. Chapter 2

The first victim was located in New Orleans, fairly close to a nearby graveyard, so Nico shadow travelled there. It was always easier to suddenly appear in at a gravesite, since people meant they saw spirits wandering around all the time. He'd been surprised when he arrived, though, as it felt like there was another presence there. It was a feeling of death, too strong to come from a mere demigod. But Nico couldn't see anything, not anyone, so he shrugged the feeling off as suspicion and started on locating the victim. As he walked through the graveyard, he noticed that the spirits all seemed anxious, restless even. Nico didn't know why they acted like that, he wasn't sure he even _wanted_ to know the reason for their abnormal behaviour, restless spirits were never good. He kept his guard up and exited the graveyard.

As he walked, he went over the information in his head. The first cheater of death was a man in his late thirties, going by the name Davis. He was a son of Hecate and had used the mist to cloak himself for ages, as well as using magic for resurrection of himself after he had died a whole of five times. As well as cheating death, the man had also killed _a lot_ of children, using the blood from their hearts to fuel his magic. Nico thought he sounded powerful, it took great skill to manipulate the most like he did, and he made sure to keep his guard up as he neared the house.

He crept up the stairs and peeked through one of the windows. He saw an empty kitchen and the entrance to a living room. He bent down and put his hand on the handle, feeling a deep magic run through his hand. He withdrew his hand quickly and decided on shadow travelling into the house instead of breaking in - he probably wouldn't get far doing that, since the handle would detect his entrance. He stepped forward into the shadows - since it was the middle of the night, it was dark all around - and stepped out onto the floor on the inside of a small toilet. He listened intently before opening the door and stepping out. It was dark, _very_ dark, but Nico could see perfectly. He slowly made his way into the living room. A sofa sat in a corner, in front of the television, and a single lamp sat beside a bookcase. No other furniture was present, just a large, fluffy carped that stretched across the whole floor.

He was just about to take a step into the room, when he noticed a presence behind him. He whirled around, but was too late as a hand folded around his throat, the pressure slowly squeezing his windpipe.

"What the hell are you doing here, kid?! Who are you?" The man, presumably Davis, stared at him, his eyes the colour of dark red wine. "A demigod obviously. How did you get in here?"

Nico focused, which was difficult with a hand cutting off the air from his lungs. He felt the earth beneath them rumble before the wooden planks split apart and a stone smashed into Davis' hand. The man screamed and let go of Nico, the demigod falling to his knees as he gulped in air.

"You little-" the man started, but didn't utter a word more when a skeletal hand shot up from the ground and grabbed his leg. Davis was dragged down a few feet and started squirming to get out. Nico let him be and went into the kitchen. He looked around before he found a small but sharp knife. He grabbed it and walked back into the living room.

"You can't kill me, boy. I have lots of magic prepared to resurrect me if need be-" he shut up when Nico cut a small gash into his left cheek.

"Who said I was gonna kill you? I only have to extract some information from you." That wasn't entirely true, but Davis would be more likely to cooperate if he thought he wasn't going to die.

"Who are you, kid?"

"My father is Hades. My name is Nico di Angelo."

Davis looked him up and down before chuckling, " _You're_ a son of Hades? Now I've seen everything." Nico glared, he didn't like people making fun of his family.

"I just need to know a few things, Davis, and I'll be on my jolly way home."

"You're not getting anything outta me, kid. Forget it."

Nico sighed and let the earth drag Davis a bit longer down. The man was now slightly below him and Nico could look down at him. "I don't think you quite understand your position, Mr Davis. I'm here on behalf of my father, who is mad with you having cheated death five times. But that's not the only thing you've done, is it? You've used the blood of children to fuel your magic, right? You killed them by tearing out their hearts and then using the blood from the heart for your magic."

Davis grinned a manic grin, his eyes wild, "You sure do know your stuff, huh? Your father tell you that?"

"It doesn't matter how I know, what matters is that if you're not willing to tell me what I want to know, your life is over." He threw the knife from hand to hand, feeling the weight in his hand.

"You can't kill me, kid."

Nico smirked, "That's just as good, it gives me more time." With that he made more skeleton hands grab Davis, his arms and legs becoming immobile, he even had one grab him by the waist to keep him completely still. He then walked over to Davis and used the knife to cut open the man's shirt, the skin beneath tensing up. Nico let the tip of the knife touch the skin at the middle of his chest, barely penetrating, to touch the flesh beneath. He applied a little more pressure and slid the knife downwards, the blade leaving a bright red line behind. Blood ran down the man's chest and dripped onto the carpet, the crimson colour already staining it. Davis yelped in pain but was otherwise silent, that meant Nico had to work harder.

He gripped the knife harder, pressing the tip hard into the man's flesh. The blade tore up Davis' skin, blood and flesh oozing from the wound. Nico smirked at the yell of pain he got and pulled the knife out of the man's flesh with a sickening, wet sound.

"You're crazy, kid," Davis breathed out. His muscles tensed as he tried to rip his limbs away from the skeletons.

Nico laughed, it probably sounded slightly crazed but that was to be expected in this situation, "You're calling _me_ crazy? I'm not the one cutting out the hearts of children."

Davis glared and screamed in pain as Nico burrowed the knife to the hilt in his right kidney. The younger demigod didn't react as blood gushed out over his hand, only twisted the knife inside the wound, widening it. Davis' breath came out in gasps, saliva dripping from his bottom lip. "You don't have to do this, boy."

Nico pulled the knife out and wiped the blood on the carpet, "Oh, but I do. My father asked me, you see. And I was at a lack of things to do, so I agreed to take this task. You're just the first one, there are countless like you after I'm finished here."

Davis stared at him and was about to say something but didn't get there as Nico pushed the tip of the blade into his solar-plexus. There was already a wound from the first cut there, and Nico let the blade slide inside, twisting it in the process - the metallic scent of blood filled Nico's nostrils. Davis cried out, and tried to pull his arms free. He succeeded in loosening one, with which he struck Nico with, in the face.

Nico touched the place the strike fell, tentatively prodding for further damage – he found none, other than a bit of blood forming on the skin. He looked at the other. Davis was panting, his hand pulling the knife out of the wound. Nico grasped for his sword, but remembered his father's words and grabbed the dagger beside it. The black blade felt light in his hand and he experimentally slashed it through the air.

"Think you can kill me with that, kid?" Davis spoke up, a pained smirk on his face.

Nico walked forward and made the skeleton grab the man's arm again, "Only one way to find out." With that he drove the blade into Davis' chest, straight into his heart.

Davis' body convulsed and tensed in a rigid position. His mouth was open as if to scream, but no sound came out. His eyes were wide, and stared at Nico, fear etched into them.

Nico looked down at the dagger and saw that the blood seemed to be absorbed into the blade, making it glow dark red in the darkness. He pulled the dagger out of Davis body and watched as the man dissolved into black dust on the floor. The carpet was now stained with the dark dust, the particles fastening in the drying blood.

Nico stared down at the blade and dragged his finger over the flat side of it - it felt both hot and cold at the same time. He sheathed the dagger in his belt, beside his sword, and made his way out of the house – the magic had disappeared when Davis had died, making the trip an easy task.

Once outside, he stretched his arms before walking down the steps, his jacket riding slightly up in the process. A movement in the corner of his eye made him snap his head to the right. A large forest stretched out before him, the tall trees making the forest floor completely dark. And there, in the darkness, Nico could swear he could see two big, narrow, and yellow eyes stare back at him.

A shiver went down his spine, his skin rising to form goose bumps. The same feeling he'd had in the graveyard rushed his senses, making his hair stand on end. He could do nothing but stare, transfixed by the golden eyes in the dark. He shuddered and felt his hands shaking when the eyes disappeared into the forest, growing smaller and smaller until Nico couldn't see them anymore.

He let out a breath, and bent down to rest his hands on his knees – he hadn't felt a feeling like this in a long time, a feeling of fear. He dreaded that feeling, only bad memories followed in its wake. The fear of his father had made him almost sacrifice Percy, and almost drove him insane at times.

He swallowed and straightened up – his hands had stopped trembling, which was a good thing. He inhaled deeply and focused, fusing with the nearby shadows to travel back to the Underworld. The unsettling feeling hadn't fully left him yet, but he wanted to get away as quickly as possible. He hadn't felt anything like this in a long while – sure he'd seen glowing eyes in the darkness before, but none of them had made him feel like this, like those eyes belonged to a being that was incredibly powerful. He told himself not to dwell on it anymore, but couldn't quite shake the feeling away, even as he arrived in his father's palace.

Whatever the creature was, he had a feeling this wasn't the last time he'd see it.

* * *

[Last edited: 11.08.2017]


	3. Chapter 3

The way Hades absorbed the power of Davis' soul was fascinating - in Nico's opinion, anyway.

His father had taken the dagger and made a small cut on his forearm with it. He, of course, wasn't affected in the slightest by the metal's absorbing power, rather the opposite - the colour seemed to be absorbed by _Hades_. Nico could see red lines snake up Hades' arm before seemingly disappearing into the skin.

"Good work, son."

Nico glanced up, only now noticing that he had been staring, "Yes, thank you, father." He paused, not sure whether he should ask or not, "...Father, why does that dagger not absorb any of your essence?"

Hades looked a tad surprised at the question, his right eyebrow raising, "It reacts to spirits that are not of the dead, meaning that the dagger absorbs living essence, and does not affect those who have death in their being." Nico pondered about that, "Does that mean that I can also absorb the energy of souls?"

"In theory, yes. Even so, none of my children have ever known of this matter, you are the first one," Hades said, his lips pursed in thought.

Nico tried not to let the proud feeling swell in his chest - he might be on good terms with Hades, but some things made him feel a tiny bit of pride. "I see."

"Although it is technically possible, I would not advice you trying this, son. It would be a foolish risk, as your soul could be absorbed instead," Hades looked a bit troubled, his brows furrowing, as if he knew that Nico would most likely try it despite what he said.

"...I will be careful, father," Nico smiled and bowed as he was handed the dagger. The metal felt cold again, not inhabiting any souls. He sheathed it and bade his father farewell, heading off to his room within the palace, his body yearning for a good night's sleep.

As he later lay in bed, he thought about the yellow eyes he'd seen earlier. He hadn't felt such fear in a long time, and that was partly the reason he hadn't told Hades of the strange encounter. Now that he really thought about it, he couldn't remember when he'd last seen eyes like those – they seemed to be looking straight into his soul. He felt as if this creature, whatever it was, was highly intelligent, since its eyes had seemed deep with wisdom. He couldn't really explain why he felt that way, it was just a feeling in his gut, and Nico had learned to trust those feelings, as they proved to be right more often than not.

The next day arrived with nothing unusual occurring, so, as evening rolled around, Nico sat off to interrogate his next 'client'.

This one was a man in his late twenties, a son of Hypnos it seemed. His name was Nate, and he was supposedly a perfect member of society – he payed his taxes on time, had a full-time job, and worked as a babysitter in his spare time, _nothing_ about the guy implied that he was a bad person. However, Hades had told Nico all the details about this guy, so Nico had no qualms whatsoever about 'interrogating' him.

Nate lived in England, in Wolverhampton to be precise. Nico had never been there, but he knew the coordinates, so shadow traveling there was no problem. He ended up behind the guy's house, inside a rosebush.

"Damn it," Nico muttered, it was just his luck to get stuck in a rosebush. He managed to escape the clutch of the branches and plucked the thorns out of his jacket and trousers. Some twigs had gotten stuck in his hair and he slowly pulled them out, careful not to scrape his scalp on any of the sharp thorns. As he turned around to take in his surroundings, he noticed the wide stretch of forest that surrounded most of the house and garden. He stared at the trees for a moment and suddenly grew aware of a familiar feeling, the same one he'd felt last night, a presence other than his own.

He looked around, trying to locate the source, but found nothing, yet again. He shuddered and started making his way to the front of the house. However, as he turned the corner, he noticed a faint light in his peripheral. He turned quickly, and stared into the golden eyes he'd seen yesterday. Although, this time, he could make out the shape of the creature – a giant, black doglike creature, a jackal, if he was correct.

The jackal did nothing but stare at him from its place at the edge of the garden, its form sitting upright, with its hind legs folded underneath its behind, the tail curled slightly around its paws.

Nico didn't move a muscle, only stared in silence at the majestic creature, for it was truly majestic, its whole being radiated power and wisdom, and a familiar feeling Nico couldn't quite place.

They stared at each other for what seemed like minutes, none of them moving a muscle. Nico breathed a shivering sigh, and decided to ignore the potential threat the animal posed.

"What do you want?" he started, lifting his hand up in the air with his palm up, in an irritated gesture. The creature didn't move. "Are you here to kill me, or something? Did dad send you?" Still no reaction. "Fine, do as you please, just don't bother my work."

With that he turned and walked to the front of the house. He dared only a glance behind him, only to find that the jackal was gone. Typical.

He shrugged the whole thing off and made his way up the steps, his feet entering a shadow in front of the door, and exiting on the other side, inside the house. The entire house was dark and Nico moved silently and cautiously through the entry and into the living room. The room was tidy, with a sweet scent in the air, an incense of some kind - nothing seemed suspicious at first glance.

A creaking floorboard had Nico turning around, only to stop to stare at a man standing with only a towel around his waist, a glass of water raised to his lips as if to drink. The man looked very surprised at finding someone in his house, in his living room nonetheless.

Nico immediately knew that this was the guy he was looking for, the dark hair and tired, milky white eyes exactly as his father had described them. The son of Hades raised his guard and was ready to draw his sword should the situation turn sideways.

"...Well, if I'd known I'd be getting visitors this late, I would've made some tea," Nate said as he lowered the glass. He didn't seem like a threat at the current moment, but Hades had told Nico of what he was capable of. "So, who are you, if I may ask?"

Nico didn't answer. He made the shadows tighten around his feet, ready to melt into them if need be.

"Ah, a son of Hades I presume. What does the old man want with me now, hasn't he pestered me enough? Okay, I may have cheated death a few times, but he doesn't have to freak out over every cheater of death now, does he?" Nate threw his left hand into the air in an irritated gesture, much like Nico had done earlier. He then exited the living room to walk into the kitchen. Nico followed, but very quietly, half inside the shadows in case something happened. He was right, of course, when Nate not so subtly grabbed a kitchen knife, and was turning around fast, knife raised. However, when he had fully turned, Nico wasn't there, having shadow travelled to stand behind the man instead.

"What exactly were you planning on using that knife for?" he asked, enjoying how Nate startled and whirled around to face him. Nico grabbed the knife from the other's hand, the grip loosened by the surprise.

"I- I wasn't going to do anything. I'm not a bad guy, OK. Don't believe everything Hades tells you, lad," Nate stuttered, backing up into the living room again.

"Oh, really? I guess what dad told me about you using you babysitter cover was a trick for getting parents to leave their children in your care. While you were babysitting, you hypnotized them, and abused their bodies. But since they were hypnotized, they wouldn't remember anything, or feel any pain," Nico said as he inspected the knife in his hand. When he looked up again, the innocent and frightened look in Nate's eyes was gone, a grazed expression taking its place.

"Ahahahaha," a manic laughter escaped the man's throat and Nico's eyes squinted as he glared at the elder. "Ah, I guess it's no use trying to hide it any longer. Yeah, I raped those kids, and you know what? I loved every _second_ of it! I even filmed it, and sold the copies online! Do you have any idea how much money people are willing to pay for lousy videos of small children being raped by a grown man?!" A grin had stretched across Nate's face, and not the pleasant kind, a cruel and crazy smile. His eyes were wide, his pupils blown.

Nico felt like vomiting, "You're a sick, crazy person."

"That's rich, coming from you! Hah, don't make me laugh. I know who you are, Nico di Angelo!" Nico flinched as his name was spoken, how could Nate know his name? "Oh, I know lots of things, Nico. I am a son of Hypnos, and that gives me a little insight to your thoughts. Oh, I know what you've done, Nico. Terrible things, Nico."

Nico glared and let the floor crack open beneath Nate. The older demigod stumbled backwards and fell down onto the carpeted floor. Snakes of earth writhed up from the fissure, coiling around Nate's arms, legs, and one around his throat, effectively pinning him to the floor.

"Watch your mouth. You know nothing about me." Nico's voice was low and husky with anger. He moved over to Nate and straddled the man's hips. He then removed his jacket to move his arms more easily. Raising the knife, he examined the other's torso, deciding on where to start. His gaze stopped on Nate's left ear - that looked like a good place to start. He lowered the knife and made a clean cut of removing the earlobe. And Nate screamed. Loud. He shrieked so loud that Nico cringed and slapped him across the face.

That made Nate shut up, surprisingly, and Nico sighed. He pondered his next move for a second before he decided on moving to the fingers. He bent over and made a quick slice across the elder's pinkie, effectively cutting off the tip. Blood seeped out of the wound and dripped onto the floor. Nate had yelped in pain and was now whimpering.

Nico looked at the hand on the floor and had another idea, but he would need a different tool for that. He got up and put the knife down. He then wound his way through the house, searching for a toolbox of some kind. He found one under the kitchen sink, having searched through much of the house. He found what he was looking for; pliers.

He walked back to the living room and stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed someone else inside the room. The _jackal_ was casually sitting on the floor a few feet away from Nate. It didn't move, just sat in silence and observed Nico. Now that it was so close, the son of Hades noticed that the animal was huge, probably big enough for him to sit on its back without it having any problem. He imagined riding on it, the creature could definitely move quickly.

"How did you get in here?" Nico asked while placing his hand on his hip. Nate squinted at him for a second, before turning his head, and noticing the large animal in their midst.

He gaped, and momentarily seemed to forget his injuries, "Whoa! What is that? Is it yours?" The question was for Nico and he shook his head, noticing how the jackal looked mildly disgusted by the thought. That reaction concluded his suspicions, that this was a magical creature that understood human language.

Nate spoke up again, his voice in awe, "What _is_ that thing? I don't get _anything_ when trying to read its thoughts, that's only happened a few times before, and all of them were with gods."

Nico raised his eyebrows. A god? This animal was a god? Not the weirdest thing, but still pretty strange. "I don't know what it is, but I don't think it's here to watch me talk to you about it." With that he set to work. He bent down and sat on the floor beside Nate's left hand. The pinkie still bled, but not as much as before – a nice, crimson splotch had already formed on the carpet.

He grabbed the hand and brought the pliers to the edge of the nail on his forefinger.

Nate twisted in his pinned position, "You... You're not really gonna...?"

Nico didn't bother to ask him, choosing instead to grab the nail with the pliers. He slowly started pulling and felt Nate's hand spasm in pain beneath his fingers. He gripped the hand harder and slowly pulled the nail out of its place, the nail bed underneath bloody. The elder screamed in pain and writhed on the floor, desperately trying to pull his hand away as Nico grabbed a second nail and made quick work of pulling it out.

"Stop, please _stop_! I'll do anything!" Nate whimpered out, his arm twitching.

Nico didn't listen, only moved onto the next nail. It too was ripped out, blood now flowing onto the floor. Only two fingernails left now. He grabbed the fourth nail with the pliers and glanced up to see the jackal watching him, its golden eyes glowing in the darkness. For some reason he felt excitement roll through his body as those eyes bore into his soul. He pulled the nail out with renewed vigour as he watched the jackal watch him. Once done, he moved onto the last nail, pulling it out slower than the rest. Nate screamed and he pulled the nail ever so slowly out of its socket, a string of flesh hanging off its end.

"Why?! I only raped some kids, what's so wrong with that? Do you need to pull out my fingernails for that?!" Nate's voice was laced with panic, it was clear that he was spouting anything to try and get out of this situation.

"You're a Monster, Nate. You deserve this," Nico answered as he grabbed his discarded knife. He moved down and made the soil snakes pull Nate's legs apart. He then sat between the man's legs and removed the towel.

Nate stilled, "You're not gonna rape me... are you?" He stared at Nico with fear in his eyes.

Nico gagged and scowled at Nate, "No. No one would want to rape you, you sick monster."

That seemed to relieve Nate and he almost relaxed. That was until Nico brought the knife closer to his genitals.

"What-" he started but stopped as Nico forcefully grabbed his nut-sack with his left hand. The son of Hades squeezed the sack just because he could, and watched with glee as Nate squirmed and screamed in pain. When he was satisfied with the pain he caused, he brought the knife down and pressed the sharp edge against the skin at the base of the sack.

Nate understood what he was doing a second before Nico started cutting. "No! Nonono! Please-" Nico didn't listen, only pressed the blade harder into the skin, separating the soft sack from the body. Blood flowed out onto his hand, and he paused to wipe some sweat off his brow, smearing some of the blood on his face in the process. He didn't spare it a second thought, just repositioned the knife and continued cutting. A few seconds later, the nut-sack was dangling in his left hand. He let go of it and it fell to the floor with a satisfying, wet thud.

Nate's whimpering of pain had turned into laughter now, a sick, manic but low laughter, "...You're the real monster. Have you looked in the mirror?!" Nico looked down at him. "You haven't noticed that you're grinning, have you? You're grinning just like a maniac, just like the monster you are! Ahahaha!" He then moved onto laughing uncontrollably.

Nico felt his own face and noticed that he was indeed grinning. He was enjoying this, bringing this pain to Nate. He looked up at the jackal and saw that it was still watching him, its eyes still glowing. Nico yet again felt that jolt of excitement and brought out the dagger from his belt.

"Are you finally gonna kill me, Nico di Angelo?" Nate stared at him, with drool running down from his mouth.

Nico didn't answer, only sank the blade into the older demigod's heart. Nate's body spasmed once before becoming rigid, much like Davis had been. Nico pulled the dagger out and watched as the body dissolved into dust beneath him.

He sheathed the dagger and got up only to sit down again on the sofa. He breathed heavily and rested his head in his hands. A thud next to him made him look up – the jackal had jumped up on the sofa. The animal lowered its head to rest it on top of Nico's thigh.

Nico looked down at the animal in astonishment. What was he supposed to do? Was he allowed to pet it? He really wanted to, that black fur looked incredibly soft. He cautiously lowered his hand and rested it on top of the jackal's head. The animal didn't move so Nico took that as a go ahead. He let his fingers slide through the silky strands of the fur, feeling the warmth from the skin underneath. Nico sat in silence as he petted the animal.

A thought suddenly struck him and he looked down at the jackal, "Are you... Anubis?" He'd remembered something he'd learned many years ago, something about the Egyptian gods, and one of them having a jackal's head.

The jackal in question stiffened and looked up at him, the wise eyes seemingly impressed at Nico's recognition. The demigod took that as affirmation, feeling slightly proud at being correct.

"What in the world are you doing here?" he asked. Anubis didn't answer. Figures.

Nico scoffed and continued stroking the god's fur. He had no idea why he was sitting with a god's head in his lap, but he was way too tired to complain.

* * *

Some time must have passed. Nico awoke with a start. He looked around and found that he was lying down on the sofa. Anubis was nowhere in sight.

He sat up and stretched his arms. He got up and found his jacket on the floor. He slipped it on and made his way into the kitchen. He stopped when he saw someone sitting in one of the chairs beside the table.

He immediately raised his guard and kept his hand on his sword. He then noticed that the person was not a normal human, it had an animal head. More importantly, a _jackal's_ head.

Nico relaxed and strolled over to stand in front of the god. Anubis got up as well and stood before Nico. He was a tad taller than the demigod, the pointy ears adding a few extra centimetres over that height again.

"So, this is your godly form?" Nico said, taking in the god's attire, a linen quilt, sandals, bracelets in gold, and a large golden neck-wear.

Anubis said nothing as he watched Nico. The demigod wondered if he could speak at all.

"I still don't know-" he started, but stopped short as Anubis reached up to grasp his chin lightly, turning Nico's head this way and that to inspect his face.

A shiver went down Nico's spine as the god slid a finger along his jaw to rest it under his chin, tilting it slightly upwards. The god's hand was warm, pleasantly so, and Nico found his eyes transfixed by the warm yellow of the jackal's eyes.

Without any warning, Anubis trailed a finger down Nico's throat and then disappeared. The demigod turned and looked for him, but he was completely gone.

"Typical," he muttered. He slipped on his jacket and shadow travelled back to the Underworld.

* * *

[Last edited: 11.08.2017]


	4. Chapter 4

Nico's dreams were hunted by yellow eyes. It felt like soft fur was brushing against his legs if he was walking, and as if a furry animal was pressed against his chest if he was laying down. Fingers also seemed to trail along his jaw and down his neck and chest. Nails were lightly drawing patterns on his back. He would wake up and find himself shivering at the loss of that contact. His body had never gotten the physical contact it needed, and that made him welcome those gestures with open arms.

It was all subconsciously of course, but it made Nico very aware of what he'd suppressed over the years. He'd constantly tell himself that he was alone and had denied himself the privilege of human affection.

A few days had passed since his visit at Nate's place. Hades had been away, and that meant that Nico hadn't been able to deliver the absorbed soul in the dagger. Persephone had been delighted at the opportunity to torment her stepson. But Nico had simply rolled his eyes at her and ignored her until Hades returned.

"Good work, son," the god of the Underworld had said as he absorbed Nate's life essence.

Nico had smiled at that and waited patiently to get the dagger back.

"I do hope you find this task to be of your liking, my boy?"

"Of course, father. I find it rather... entertaining," Nico answered, a tiny smirk playing across his lips.

Hades' eyebrows made a small jump, barely noticeable, "... I see. That is good."

"Yes, father."

Hades handed him the dagger again, if only a bit reluctant. Nico took the blade and smiled again. He bowed and turned to leave the throne room.

* * *

Nico had shadow traveled to his next location. He walked along a grassy path, his path supposed to end at a tiny house in the woods. A god lived there, supposedly a minor woodland god. Hades had told him that the god had stolen something from him, a scepter of sorts, and he wanted it back. That meant Nico would interrogate the minor god until he knew the location.

As he walked, he noticed the flowers all turning towards him. Now that he really looked, he could see that there were far too many flowers that deep in the forest, and they were all open despite it being in the middle of the night. The branches on the trees started bending down, making his shoulders brush against twigs and leaves.

"What's up with this forest?" he muttered as a twig seemed to curl around his arm, holding him back.

A snap behind him made him turn around, only to find no one there. He glared at the open space as if it had offended him and turned around again. However, he walked straight into another body. His hands flew up to try and steady him and landed on a solid chest. A bare and muscular chest no less.

Nico looked up and stared into the golden eyes of the Egyptian god of Death. Anubis was still in his godly form, his hands gripping Nico's waist to keep him upright.

None of them moved for a few seconds, until the god's right thumb traced a line across Nico's left cheek. It stung and the demigod figured he'd cut himself on one of the many twigs. Anubis looked at his thumb, a thin streak of blood covering it, and proceeded to lick it off. Nico stared as the jackal tongue snaked out and swiped away the crimson liquid, then snapped his eyes back up to golden ones as he felt the god's left hand slip to the small of his back, pulling him slightly against Anubis. He felt his throat go a bit dry when the other's warm fingers traced along his jaw and then to the back of his neck where they tangled with his hair, angling his face slightly upwards, leaving his neck exposed. He swallowed drily, his breath shuddering slightly. Anubis' eyes focused on his face as he let go of his hair to drag a fingernail along the prominent vein on Nico's neck. The demigod shivered, his eyes momentarily closing before opening as the god pulled away, his hands leaving Nico's face and back.

The demigod exhaled. He blinked a few times and looked Anubis over. The god wore exactly what he'd been wearing the last time he'd seen him, bare chest, golden jewelry and jackal head.

"... Any particular reason why you're here, Anubis?" Nico started. "Wait, you can't answer that. Seeing as you have a jackal head. Just forget I asked." He waved his hand at the god and continued walking, knowing that Anubis would follow.

As they walked, Nico noticed that the branches weren't closing in on him more, or rather they seemed to be trying, but dared not get too close to Anubis' aura. He glanced over at the god walking beside him. Anubis was calm, his exterior radiating power and control. Nico looked forward again and grew aware of how dark it was around them. Sure, it was in the middle of the night, but the moon should've been lighting up the forest floor. He came to the conclusion that two beings of death would surely attract enough darkness to make it pitch black if they wanted, so it was only natural that it was darker outside.

He spotted a tiny house in front of them, more like a cabin, almost hidden between the dark trees. A thick layer of branches seemed to cover the path, but they moved aside as Anubis raised his hand towards them. In that moment, Nico noticed a faint grey light surrounding the god's fingers, seemingly like a fine layer of drifting ash. It dissappeared as he lowered his hand and Anubis remained silent.

As they grew closer, Nico could make out light coming from inside, most likely candlelight. The cabin in itself seemed harmless enough, with light green curtains half drawn in the windows and ivy covering some of the outer walls. Flowers grew scattered around the tiny house, roses bloomed along the walls and daisies as well as forget-me-nots peaked up from the grass. The door was dark brown, with an intricate handle. The demigod was reaching out to open the door when it suddenly swung open. A gust of warm air met him, the scent of apples and cinnamon trailing into his nostrils.

"Do come in. I have been waiting," a smooth voice sounded from inside. Nico glanced briefly at Anubis before stepping inside, the door closing behind them as the god passed the threshold. They walked through the small entry and entered what seemed like the living room. The floor they walked on was not wooden, rather made up by earth, making the son of Hades feel a bit less nervous, at least he had earth close by. Nico spotted the god sitting in a comfortable armchair, his legs crossed and arms resting on the arms of the chair. Judging by his appearance, the man was probably in his early twenties, with dark brown hair and sun-tanned skin. His eyes were striking, a mix between hazel and forest green, framed by dark lashes.

"Ah, Anubis. I felt the presence of death in my forest and assumed it was you," the god spoke up, the corner of his mouth pulling upwards in a haughty expression. "What have you brought with you? A new plaything? I must say, he is quite attractive, a bit on the skinny side, but attractive nonetheless." He looked Nico up and down. "Ah, a demigod. A son of Hades at that. No wonder. You Egyptian gods and your laws against relations with mortals."

Nico kept his guard up, his hand ready to grip his sword if necessary. He didn't like this god. He didn't like how he spoke to Anubis, either.

"My name is Saltus. I am a minor god who specializes in forest powers," the god, Saltus, said. "What is your name, son of Hades?"

Nico wasn't sure if he should reveal his identity, so he settled for only the first name, "Nico."

"'Death', huh. A fitting name for one such as yourself. Your kind always bring death wherever you go," Saltus said, scoffing slightly as he said 'your kind'.

Nico felt his temperature slightly rise, his anger slowly building up inside him. He definitely didn't like this god. He looked sideways at Anubis and found him no longer at his side, rather having moved to the sofa to sit down and watch the situation unfold. The demigod felt as if Anubis was judging his actions, deciding whether he was worthy of his attention or not.

The annoying voice of the forest god brought his attention away again, "What business do you have with Anubis, demigod? You think just because he allows your presence, you're somehow worth of him, or something? Please, _kid_ , take it from me, you're not." Saltus' eyes flashed bright green for a second.

Nico balled his hands into fists, feeling his teeth clench, hard. Small cracks started forming on the floor around his feet, the earth opening in tiny fissures. He saw the god glance down and raise an eyebrow.

"Oooo, how _scary_. Are you going to throw a tantrum, little demigod? Come on, show me what you got." Saltus opened his arms with his palm upwards, a smug expression on his face.

Nico gritted his teeth, almost snapping. He inhaled deeply before looking at Anubis. The god of death was looking at him intently, his eyes glowing slightly in the dim light. Nico felt his heart do a little jump, before slowing down its fervent beating. He felt himself calm down as he watched the god, his fists unfurling, and his teeth unclenching. He exhaled slow and tore his gaze away from the jackal, fixing his eyes at Saltus, his expression calm and controlled.

"Oh? We're calm now, are we?" Saltus spoke up, shaking his head. "That's the problem with you demigods, you think so highly of yourself, that you forget the dang-" the god had made the mistake of closing his eyes during his monologue. Nico had grabbed the opportunity to melt into the shadows, reappearing behind the god, a celestial bronze dagger in his hand, pressing against the other's jugular.

"And you gods make the mistake of underestimating us demigods," Nico said, his voice low and slow. He felt Saltus swallow against the blade, obviously nervous.

"What do you want, demigod?" Saltus said slowly, careful of the dagger almost cutting into his skin. Nico noticed how he cut right to the case and decided to do the same.

"The scepter stolen from my father, where is it?"

Nico felt Saltus tense, his fingers gripping the arms of the sofa a bit tighter. "Oh, that old thing. I lost that ages ago, I don't even remember how it looks like."

The demigod might've believed him, the god's voice was almost completely level, save for a tiny shake during the last few words. He then knew the man was lying. "I'm not a big fan of liars, so I suggest you tell me the truth, quick." He spoke calmly, his voice cold, as he dragged the blade slightly on the god's throat. Saltus gasped and Nico could see the golden ichor pooling under bronze pressed tightly into the other's skin.

"I'm not lying, I genuinely don't know where that scepter is. I never even used it," Saltus spoke, his voice strained and slightly squeaky.

Nico scoffed before glancing at Anubis. The Egyptian god was sitting cross legged, his hands folded in his lap as he studied Nico with intense eyes. The demigod once again found himself captivated by those eyes, much like he'd been the first time he'd seen them, only, this time it was not fear that raided his body, it was excitement.

Nico knew he shouldn't be feeling excited by holding a dagger at a person's throat, feeling ichor slowly slide over his fingers on the dagger.

He was snapped out of his daze as Saltus tried to grab the dagger. The foolish attempt resulted in Nico slamming the hilt of the dagger into the god's temple, effectively stopping the man's actions. Saltus groaned, his hands slipping up to his head. Nico grabbed the god's brown hair and dragged him out of his chair, tossing him onto the floor. He then made the earth around Saltus snake around his limbs, pinning his body to the ground.

Saltus looked up at him through hazy eyes, golden liquid flowing down his neck and from some split skin on his temple, Nico must've hit harder than he'd thought. He turned the blade over in his hand, staring at the ichor falling in small droplets onto the earthen floor. He contemplated his next move, sitting down on Saltus' hips, his knees on each side of his torso. He then grabbed the man's shirt and cut it open with a single slice, leaving the god's chest completely exposed.

"What're... you doin'?" Saltus slurred. His eyes half lidded as he tried to focus on the demigod. Nico glanced down at his face before bringing his face close to the god's, his right hand slowly lowering the dagger down to rest against the man's left bicep.

"Where is the scepter?" he asked, his left eyebrow cocked.

Saltus swallowed, "I don't know."

Nico pressed the edge of the dagger into the muscle of the god's bicep, listening to the pained scream that soon filled the air. "Where. Is. The. Scepter?" He asked again, punctuating each word with a deep slice of the bronze blade, feeling the fibers split and muscle tear. Golden ichor soon pooled on the ground beneath the arm, wet noises sounding each time the skin sliced open.

"I- I don't- Know!" Saltus cried out, his arm twitching beneath the blade.

Nico's eyes narrowed. He tugged the dagger out of Saltus' bicep, running a finger over the ichor coating the blade, kneading his fingers together to spread the liquid. "Is that so. I guess I'll just have to carve the truth out of you." He directed his attention to Anubis, "Do you want to come and help me?"

The jackal head looked surprised at being addressed, but the god got up nonetheless. He sauntered over to the two on the floor, sitting down next to the demigod.

Nico gestured to the man beneath him, "You wanna play a game while we get the answers?" He grinned at the god's nod, probably looking a bit manic, with golden blood staining his hands. He looked down at Saltus before slowly cutting into the flesh on the god's chest. He carved a fine line while listening to Saltus crying out in pain. He sliced another line parallel to the one already present, and another one after that. Ichor pooled on the man's chest, running in a tiny river down his side and onto the floor.

Nico made three other incisions, across the three apparent lines, effectively making a checkered area high on Saltus' chest. The demigod then carved a small cross in the middle route, gesturing for Anubis to do the same. The god understood what he wanted and pointed to the route beside Nico's. The demigod grinned and carved a circle in the chosen spot.

Saltus was whimpering in pain, trying to glance down to his chest. He made a disgusted sound as he realized what Nico was doing, "You're.. playing-" He gasped as the demigod sliced another cross into his flesh. "Tic-tac-toe..." He grew quiet as Anubis chose the next route.

Nico carved the circle and another cross before shaking his head and saying, "It's a draw, I guess we'll have to make another."

Saltus started writhing beneath him, fervently shaking his head, "Nonono. Please..."

Nico ignored him and started carving another game board. He let Anubis choose first this time, pushing the dagger a bit deeper as he made the circle. The skin tore open, the golden blood of the gods flowing freely from the deep cuts. Saltus yelped before hissing and biting his lip. Nico felt a smile grow on his face as he stabbed the blade in to make his cross.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Where is the scepter?" the demigod said, looking down at the god's pale face.

"I- I- don't-" Saltus stuttered.

Nico grabbed the man's hair and started twisting the dagger inside the wound, hearing the squelching sound of the flesh being pushed apart. "Don't lie to me," he snarled at the god, his fingers twisting inside the hair.

"I'm not lying, please-!" Saltus started before quickly shutting up as Nico pressed the bronze metal against his throat, dangerously close to his artery.

"You know what happens if I slice through this vein, right?" Nico spoke up, lowering his face closer to the other's ear. "You most likely die, so I suggest you tell me the location of the scepter right now."

"I promise, I don't know where it-"

Nico rolled his eyes and made a quick slice on the god's throat, effectively slicing open his artery.

Saltus gasped. Ichor splattered onto Nico's face, trailing downwards in small floods of gold. He lifted his head and willed the earth to close around the wound on the god's neck. The bleeding stopped.

Nico looked down into the man's eyes, noting how terrified they looked. "I can remove the earth and let you die, or you could tell me where the scepter is."

Saltus swallowed and coughed weakly, "It's inside that pole, by the fireplace."

Nico grinned. He got up and inspected the pole. It was made of wood and seemed like it belonged where it stood. He reached up and yanked off the wooden sphere at the top. He then reached inside and pulled out a silver rod with a black crystal on top of it; obsidian. He studied it a second before turning back to the god on the floor.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it? If you had told be in the beginning, none of this-" he gestured to Saltus' body. "would've happened." He sat down next to Anubis and stared at the bleeding wounds littering the man's body. He would most likely bleed to death if he just left him like that, and he wasn't sure how Hades would react to that.

"I have some ambrosia, you could eat it. You wouldn't bleed out if you did," he mused, tilting his head to the side. Saltus looked surprised, possibly hopeful. However, his expression fell instantly as Nico felt a hand grace the underside of his chin.

"Why should you save him? Does he deserve it?" a smooth voice spoke close to his ear, soft waves of warm breath ghosting over his cheek. Nico bowed his head backwards, shivering at the sensual voice. The hand moved to his jaw and turned his head slightly to the right.

Nico blinked slowly as his eyes focused on the face close to his own. And it was a beautiful face. Pale skin, much like Nico's own, stretched across slightly prominent cheekbones. Raven hair framed the face in luscious waves, bangs almost dipping into his eyes. And, oh, oh, the eyes. They were a deep brown colour, like a mix between melted light and dark chocolate. Nico had never been a huge fan of chocolate, but he might become addicted to it now.

Anubis stared into his eyes, his eyelids at half mast as he gazed slightly downwards. Nico felt his mouth go dry. This god was radiating death and it made the demigod want to curl up against him to be closer to the dark energy. He leaned into the hand against his jaw, feeling the god's aura roll over his skin in tiny motions.

Nico felt his head being pushed back, his face yet again facing Saltus in front of them. Anubis rested his chin on the demigod's shoulder, his hand trailing downwards to slip slightly under the hem of his shirt. Nico arched slightly at the touch, a sound almost like a moan leaving his mouth. He leaned into Anubis, his body desperately seeking the other's comforting and dark energy. The god's other hand rested against his chest, fingertips splayed across the place where his clavicles met.

"Look at him, Nico." Anubis spoke up. A shuddering moan pressed out of Nico's mouth at how the god pronounced his name. He glanced down at Saltus and saw that the man was starting to lose consciousness. "He's dying, Nico. Why not take his soul into that dagger of yours?"

Nico swallowed, trying to sort his thoughts out for something to say, "He.. mnn. Hades wanted me to interrogate him.. not.. kill him."

Anubis chuckled against his neck, his breath causing goosebumps to form on Nico's skin. "Oh, but he would most likely not care if you took his life, he'll die either way." The hand on the demigod's hip trailed upwards, leaving warm streaks in its wake. "You saw what power a demigod's soul holds. Think of how much power you could get from the soul of a god, Nico."

The god's voice was slow and Nico felt himself slipping into a state of bliss as he listened to the words. "I.."

"Think of how much power _we_ could get..." Anubis trailed off, his lips leaving a chaste kiss against the skin at Nico's throat.

The son of Hades could feel his body completely succumbing to the inviting presence of the Egyptian god. His head tipped forward as he felt Anubis grin against his neck before he buried his face into the demigod's hair.

Nico lowered his hand down to his belt and unfastened the black dagger hanging at his side. He gripped it tightly and lowered it to Saltus' chest.

The forest god gazed up at him with hazy eyes, a tiny smile playing on his lips, "I see. You play a dangerous game, Anubis." He coughed. "You've already poisoned his mind, just look at that smile."

Nico noticed how his face was split in half by a wide grin, his expression slightly manic. He couldn't have cared less. Without hesitation, he plunged the dagger into the man's chest. The blade glowed as it absorbed the god's life force.

He slowly pulled it free and watched on as the god dissolved, dust covering the golden ichor on the earthen floor.

"Good work, my angel of death," Anubis soft voice spoke into his hair. He turned his head and grinned up at the god. A genuine grin this time, not a manic one. The god of death seemed slightly surprised at his expression, but smiled nonetheless.

"You have to absorb the soul now," he said, his arms tightening around Nico as the demigod turned to fully face the god.

"Yeah, I'm nervous about that part..." Nico muttered, staring down at the glowing blade.

He felt Anubis right hand cup his cheek, turning his face upwards. "You will never know if you do not try."

That was true.

He glanced at his arm and pulled up his sleeve. He started lowering the blade and glanced back to meet Anubis' eyes again. "What if I get absorbed?"

Anubis looked thoughtful, and then leaned forward to press a soft kiss on Nico's lips. "If you're determined enough to return to me uninjured, I'm sure you can absorb the soul."

Nico felt his cheeks flush a deep red and quickly stared down at his arm. He then bit his lip as he made a quick incision. His skin split open. Anubis' arm tightened its hold. And Nico held his breath.

* * *

[Last edited: 11.08.2017]


	5. Chapter 5

Pain was something Nico was used to. He'd experienced physical pain loads of times, as well as emotional pain, especially emotional pain. The feeling of absorbing Saltus' soul was an entirely new kind of pain.

Nico grit his teeth and hissed as the golden glow inside the dagger sank into his skin, traveling up his arm like a searing heat. Once the essence had disappeared into his chest, the pain subsided.

"Ah! Haahh-" the demigod gasped and inhaled quickly. His body spasmed against Anubis as waves of pleasure spread from his chest. The god seemed slightly surprised at his reaction, but tightened his arms around Nico nonetheless.

The demigod's head tipped forward to rest against Anubis' shoulder as he waited for the waves to pass. He couldn't keep himself from moaning while arching slightly into the god's chest.

"...Hhhhahhh..." Nico breathed out, seemingly having found his voice. "That was… unexpected."

Anubis loosened his grip a bit, letting the demigod have some space. "Yeah, that was surprising."

Nico curled his fingers before unfurling them again, trying to test if his physical functions were any different. He noticed that the wound he'd just cut had healed, leaving no scar behind. He brought a finger up and traced the spot where his skin had been cut open not a minute before. It felt warm to the touch, like there was a small hot spot underneath the thin layer of skin.

"Do you feel any different?" Anubis asked.

Nico glanced up at him, his dark eyes meeting the god's. "I dunno. The only thing I can tell is different is that I'm not as tired as I'm used to, from the not sleeping and all." He slipped out from Anubis' grasp and stood up, jumping slightly on his feet. He stretched and felt his joints pop. He then picked up Hades' scepter and felt a shock travel up his arm. The obsidian glowed purple for a second before returning to its ebony colour, however, a buzzing feeling remained, like energy thrumming along the scepter and into Nico's palm.

Nico stared at the black stone, "That was weird..."

Anubis came to stand beside him, his hand rising to rest on the demigod's shoulder, "What happened?"

Nico glanced over at the god. Anubis looked curious, and his voice held a slightly hopeful tone.

"...It glowed and now it's filled with dark energy," he said after a moment's hesitation. He wasn't entirely sure if he should be telling Anubis everything. The god's expression looked triumphant, smug even, like this was what he'd hoped would happen.

"May I hold it?" the god asked, his eyes shining with want.

Nico instinctively started raising the scepter towards Anubis. But he hesitated. What was this feeling? Unease?

He frowned and decided to trust Anubis with holding the scepter, even though he wasn't sure that was a wise move.

The god's fingers closed around the silver metal of the scepter. Nico kept a close eye on the obsidian. He noticed the light dimming, until the purple glow subsided entirely. The demigod then focused on Anubis' facial features. The god stared intently at the black crystal, his expression disappointed.

Anubis lowered the scepter before handing it back to Nico, "I believe it only responds to the bloodline of Hades."

The demigod took the offered scepter, the purple light returning instantly. He noticed Anubis frowning, his eyes fixed on the obsidian.

"Why don't we go outside and try figuring out what this thing can do, huh? I bet it does something special, otherwise my father wouldn't want it back so badly," Nico said. He started walking towards the door, stopping briefly to make sure Anubis followed. He did.

The demigod pushed the wooden door outward, stepping out into the clear night air. The house had felt too warm, the metallic scent of ichor hanging in the air.

Anubis stood beside him, the scratching of his boots on the ground reaching Nico's ears. "It seems you got a bit angrier than you thought," he said.

The demigod glanced down and spotted the cracked ground. The grass had died in a wide circle around the house of the now dead god, Saltus. It wasn't just the plants. All the insects within the circle were now littering the ground, beetles and beautiful butterflies strewn among the withered grass.

This was absolutely not unusual for the son of Hades, he still had some trouble controlling his powers when he was angered. He'd once managed to kill every living creature in a kilometres radius in an encounter with a mind-reading monster. The foolish creature had made the mistake of taking a peek into Nico's memories, and then brought up Bianca. The demigod had not only gotten angry, but incredibly sad as well. In his rage, he'd unleashed his powers on the living creatures and vegetation in a kilometre-wide circle. The monster had dropped dead, along with every other organism in the area. The earth had raised around him, cracks and fissures stretching across the ground.

"Yeah, that often happens when I lose control," Nico said nonchalantly, shrugging as he did so.

"...You're even more powerful than I thought. Perfect," Anubis muttered. Nico whipped around to stare at the god. What had the god said?

Anubis stepped closer, his hand coming up to cup Nico's left cheek. The demigod's breath hitched.

"You're perfect, Nico. You're more than I could've hoped for," Anubis said. "I want to teach you magic. Death magic, that is."

Nico raised an eyebrow, "You mean that grey stuff that encased your fingers earlier?"

Anubis now raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised. "You could see that?" Then he laughed. Actually laughed. The sound was loud and unexpectedly pleasant. Nico decided he liked the god's laugh, a lot.

"What?"

The Lord of Funerals stopped laughing and smiled at the demigod. He leaned forward and pecked Nico's nose, his lips leaving behind a pleasant warmth.

"Nothing. You're just amazing. Normally, people can't see that unless they look beyond what can be seen. You truly are amazing." Anubis chuckled. "But, yes, that is death magic."

Nico felt slightly baffled by the god's words and actions. "Okay. We can do that after I've tested the power of the sceptre."

He stepped away from Anubis and focused on the sceptre in his hand. He had no idea what the sceptre was supposed to do. He figured the godly soul inside him made the sceptre active.

Nico tried to push his own energy into the sceptre. He waited, but nothing happened. It felt like there was a dam preventing the energy from flowing freely. He pushed harder and felt the dam start to give way. He then forced his powers to exceed the energy in the sceptre, breaking the dam in the process.

Purple light flooded the area in front of Nico. He jolted at the sudden brightness but held on nonetheless. The light gathered in the air before them, darkening as it grew denser.

An image appeared inside the swirling light, a dark landscape with a shimmer of deep red.

"What is that?" Anubis asked, walking closer to the image.

"It's Tartarus," Nico replied. He'd recognized it immediately, having spent an unpleasant amount of time there.

The god of Death turned around, an astonished look on his face, "Tartarus? How can you be so sure?"

Nico sighed, "Because I've been there, and believe me, it's not a place you'd wanna go for holidays."

Anubis raised his hand towards the image, his fingers slipping into it. "It's a portal," he said, now mowing his entire arm inside.

"Yeah, I figured," Nico replied. He walked over to the portal and moved to the other side of it. From here he couldn't see anything other than swirling, purple light.

He now understood why Hades had wanted it back. If the sceptre ended up in the wrong hands, and they learned how to use it... They could let monsters escape all the time, and let them out immediately after their essence. Nico also understood that he had to get the sceptre back to his father. Hades would never let monsters escape Tartarus.

"We have to get the sceptre back to my father," he said, more to himself than Anubis.

The god of Death perked up, "Why would you want to do that? Think of all the power we could have by utilizing its powers."

Nico shook his head, "Not a good idea for me to be venturing into that place again. I've made many enemies during my time, and most of them are in there." He pointed at the portal, and Anubis slowly took his arm out from inside it.

"I guess you're right. Power like this could easily be used for horrible things in the wrong hands," he said and Nico nodded.

He tried to withdraw his energy from the sceptre, and the portal shrunk to the size of a pea before the light dispersed, leaving open air.

Nico sighed and fastened the sceptre in his belt, the dark stone feeling cold through his shirt. He once again glanced at the small house of Saltus.

For some reason, killing the god had left no feeling of remorse at all, rather leaving satisfaction. Nico felt good about having killed Saltus. Sure, the god had stolen Hades' sceptre, but he'd probably never figured out how to use it, so there wasn't really any reason for Nico to kill him. Hades had even told him that he didn't _need_ to kill the woodland god, but the demigod had done it either way. Anubis' voice and words had sounded so _reasonable_ , why shouldn't Nico have killed him? There probably wouldn't be any consequences following his death, he'd been such a minor god after all. No one had to know that Nico had killed him, and even if someone _did_ find out, they didn't need to know that Nico had enjoyed watching the god dissolve into dust.

The demigod felt himself grin a bit at the thought of the golden dust covering the floor, the ichor staining his hands. He looked down at his fingers and saw the golden blood covering them. He'd have to get rid of it later.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Anubis.

The god's expression was intense, "You still have blood on your face." Nico watched as the god licked his thumb and traced it against his cheek. He repeated the action, moving to different spots on the demigod's face each time.

"Missed a spot..." he muttered.

Nico felt his breath hitch as he felt Anubis' lips on his neck, licking along the left tendon. The demigod shuddered, gasping slightly as the god bit his skin before sucking on it. His hands flew up to grasp at Anubis' forearms.

Anubis grinned against his skin before pulling away, leaving Nico a bit breathless.

"Blood splattered suits you," he murmured, admiring the mark Nico knew must be forming on his neck. "Death magic will come naturally if you've gotten used to taking lives. If you should want to learn, that is. I can't force you, but I have a feeling you want to learn," the god traced his fingers against Nico's cheek.

The son of Hades didn't miss a beat, "I want to learn." He wasn't sure if he'd be able to deny Anubis' wishes if he'd wanted to.

The god of Death smiled, "Good." He then leaned forward and pressed his lips briefly against Nico's, the skin barely touching the other's before they were gone, along with the rest of Anubis.

Nico stood there for a few seconds, slightly stunned.

He then started walking through the forest. He needed some time alone to think.

Anubis seemed very interested in his powers, for some reason, and wanted to teach him death magic. He also insinuated that Nico was perfect, meaning he probably had planned something, and Nico had even exceeded his expectations.

The demigod had no idea what Anubis could have been planning. All he knew was that he wanted to see what the death magic would do. It seemed a tad ominous.

The god had said it would come naturally if he was used to taking lives.

Was he used to taking lives?

Now that he thought about it, he probably was, he hadn't even blinked when Hades had told him about the task including killing. Not only that but he was starting to enjoy it.

Nico wasn't gonna lie to himself, he had enjoyed killing those men. The difference now was that the previous two had done horrible things, and that had somehow given him an excuse for killing them. But Saltus... There was no excuse for that. He had downright murdered him.

And he'd _liked_ it.

He'd liked torturing him as well, the golden blood had been so different from the crimson he was used to.

He felt a smile stretch his lips. He'd been smiling like that a lot lately, he wasn't sure he liked it.

* * *

[Last edited: 11.082017]


	6. Chapter 6

In hindsight, telling Jason about the task Hades had given him, was probably not the best idea.

In Nico's defence, he felt the need to tell someone, and who better than one of his best friends. One that was hung up on doing what was right and keeping to 'the rules'.

The whole thing had started as a normal meeting.

Nico had told Jason in an Iris message that he wanted to talk to him about something, and Jason, being the loyal friend he was, immediately got slightly worried.

"Why? Did something happen? Are you hurt?" Jason spluttered, his eyebrows scrunching in worry.

Nico raised his hands, "No, no. I'm not hurt or anything. I just- wanted to talk, is all."

The son of Jupiter visibly relaxed, "Oh, okay."

"Where are you now? I can shadow travel there."

"I'm actually at Camp Half-Blood. Y'know, that huge oak tree in the forest?."

Nico nodded and swiped his hand through the mist. He went for the nearest shadow and melted into it.

As he stepped out into the open, he was greeted by the warm air of Camp Half-Blood. It was a nice change to the pungent air of the Underworld, and Nico felt a tiny smile graze his face.

The air was abruptly knocked out of him as he was pulled into a hug.

Jason's strong arms squeezed him tightly, a bit too tight.

"Jason- uh- you're kinda killing me here," he managed to utter.

The other demigod immediately let go and held him at an arm's length, allowing Nico to swallow huge gasps of air.

"Sorry. But you've been killing me with worry, man! I haven't heard from you in over a month, none of my iris messages have gotten though either."

Nico shrugged, "There's not really that good reception in the Underworld."

"You've been staying with Hades?"

"Something like that."

Jason let go of him to sit down by the tree-trunk. He patted the ground beside him, "You wanted to talk?"

Nico hesitated for a second before sitting down. He looked at the elder for a moment, opened his mouth and then closing it again. He bit his lip.

How was he supposed to start? 'Hey, Jason. You wanna know what I've been up to lately? I've been hunting down demigods, torturing them and then draining their soul to give to my father. And also, I've absorbed a soul and possibly started liking killing them. Oh, I almost forgot, there's this Egyptian god I've been hanging out with, he's really hot and I may or may not like him a teeny tiny bit. Okay, good talk. See ya' in a couple of months.' Yeah, right.

"Jason... I-" Nico started, gripping strands of grass, slowly pulling them out of the ground. "Have you ever felt pleasure from... hurting someone?"

Jason looked at him, his eyebrows twitching slightly in surprise before scrunching together, "I don't think so... But I some do." He went quiet for s few seconds. "...Do you feel like that?"

Nico licked his lips, "I guess... or something like that..." He plucked a tuft of grass from the ground and started picking them from his hand, letting them flutter to the ground.

"...Are these monsters, or...?"

"They're demigods, and-"

Jason interrupted him, "Demigods?!"

Nico winced, "Yes, demigods. Look, just let me tell you from the beginning."

Jason didn't utter a sound while Nico explained the situation, his eyebrows furrowing as the story progressed. His left eye twitched as Nico mentioned Saltus, and his hand had clenched hard when the smaller demigod told him about his meetings with Anubis.

"So, you've killed two demigods and absorbed the power of a god, have gotten used to killing and have become acquainted with and possibly grown feelings for Anubis," the son of Jupiter summed up

Nico nodded, the strands in his hand had grown warm from his curled-up fingers.

He felt a hand land on his shoulder, making him turn his head to look at the other. Jason's eyes were stern but soft as well.

"Hey, don't punish yourself for this. It could've been a lot worse, and I can tell that this has been worrying you for a while." He smiled, "At least those demigods had done some horrible things."

"But Saltus had only stolen Hades' sceptre, he hadn't done anything that came remotely close to what the others had done."

"True, but if it hadn't been for Anubis, you wouldn't have killed him, right?"

Nico mulled it over, "Probably not."

Jason squeezed his shoulder, "You should be careful around that god, I don't like what I've heard about him. Don't let yourself be pushed around by him."

The son of Hades chewed his bottom lip, "Yeah. I know. But it's not easy when he's speaking directly into your ear."

"Please spare me the details. But, seriously, don't trust him."

Nico looked into Jason's grave eyes, "Okay. I'll be careful."

Hades had told Nico to take a break from the task for a while, at which Nico was delighted.

He's decided to spend his 'vacation' in Venice. He'd actually booked a room at a hotel for two weeks, and was intent on exploring the city and the areas surrounding it. He knew for a fact that there was beautiful nature surrounding the place, and if you knew where to look, some places that were hosts to some amazing creatures.

Nico had shadow travelled to a spot he especially liked. It was a clearing in one of the forests. A river snaked its way through the area, the water vast and seemingly green from the moss covering the bottom.

The son of Hades walked over to the edge of the water and sat down. He removed his shoes and stuck his feet in the chilling water, a shudder passing through him as he did.

A ripple in the river made him glance up. A head broke the surface, the shimmering, nearly transparent face of a naiad forming from the water. It swam closer, taking up a more solid form as it went.

Nico had noticed in the few visits in Italy, that some of the supernatural creatures were slightly different. While naiads in Camp Half-Blood often took the form of human girls, the ones in Venice were liquid in appearance and had the lower halves of fish. Fins sprung from the sides of their tails and they had ear fins as well. The demigod had only encountered them a few times before, but the one in the clearing, where he was now, he had seen on several occasions. In addition, this particular naiad had never seemed to feel threatened by his close proximity, as most other potameides would feel threatened and become aggressive, she would even let him bathe in the river if he wanted. As for the reason why, Nico didn't know, perhaps she somehow knew he was no threat, or that she simply thought him too weak to resort to violence.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, son of Hades?" the naiad spoke up, her voice slightly bubbling.

Nico rolled his eyes, "How many times have I told you to call me Nico, Sercir?"

Sercir giggled, the sound like water running over tiny rocks, "I seem to forget every time, _Nico_."

The demigod smiled despite trying to seem stern, "I am enjoying what you could call a vacation. I deemed this place to be one of the most tranquil places I know of, it's perfect for relaxing."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"You should. Your river is really nice. And not just the visual of it, but the earth at the bottom is highly fertile and rich. It takes a good naiad to keep a river like this clean."

If it was possible for naiads, Sercir would most likely have blushed. She twined the water in her hands until it formed a rose as she spoke, "It's hardly that great an accomplishment, I've done it all my life, after all."

Nico grew silent for a moment. He felt the earth beneath his fingers, the minerals making up bones underneath the grassy blanked. He blinked as he felt the bones stir under his fingers, protruding from the earth. They lay in a heap for a few seconds before forming a figure.

The skeleton of a cat stood beside him, seemingly confused for a moment before accepting the situation without further ado. It adopted a ghastly, purple glow, the aura surrounding it like something akin to fur, enveloping its tail and forming ears on its head.

"Hey there. How long have you been lying down there, hm?" Nico asked, stretching his hand out to let the cat sniff at his fingers. The purple glow vibrated for a second then stilled as the cat nuzzled his hand. It moved closer, climbing into his lap and sprawling out on top of his jeans.

Nico stroked his fingers along the cat's back, the purple aura indeed feeling like fur. The tiny animal purred loudly and arched its spine into the demigod's digits. "Hey, no one purrs at a Ghost King, y'know. By the way, how can you still purr? You're made of bones. And you aren't supposed to purr at me. I'm the ghost King. I'm a scary guy."

"It seems very fond of you," Sercir said, her voice breathy, much like a tiny breeze.

"Indeed. It _is_ fond of you," a cool voice spoke from behind Nico's back.

He turned his head and spotted the dark form of Anubis behind him.

The cat hissed and arched its back while flattening its ears, though still remaining in Nico's lap.

"Oh, it seems possessive of you, Nico. Even though you just met, it must find you extremely comforting," the god approached and bent down, stretching his hand carefully out to the cat.

The creature hissed once before tentatively sniffing his hand. It stared at Anubis for a moment, its eyes narrowed, before it relaxed and gave the god's fingers one nuzzle, then returning to its position on Nico's lap.

Nico looked at Anubis and noticed a small smile grazing his face, his eyes soft as he looked at the cat.

"I usually get along well with dead animals, but I guess the jackal in me put the creature off for a moment. I suppose the feeling of death from me won it over," the god said, taking a seat next to Nico.

"How come you always know where I am?" the son of Hades asked, his fingers resuming their petting.

Anubis glanced at him, the left side of his mouth pulling upwards into a smirk, "I memorized the aura of death you emit, now I can recognize it anywhere."

"I thought you could only appear in places of death?"

"Oh, please. Look at what you're holding in your arms."

Nico glanced down, the cat now sleeping in his hands. Oh.

"There doesn't need to be more death than this?"

Anubis shrugged, "Not really. And if you want to be specific, then nearly every place is a place of death, if you think about it."

Nico pondered it, "Yeah, I guess you're right. That actually explains a lot."

The god smiled once before his attention was drawn to the naiad in the water. Sercir spluttered a second, before speaking up.

"I am the naiad Sercir, sir."

Anubis raised an eyebrow, "And you let Nico sit with his feet in the water? My, Nico, you're full of surprises, it seems."

Nico scowled, pulling his feet up from the chilling river.

They were quiet for a while, the sun beating down on them in blazing summer heat. Nico had no problem, for he had taken off his jacket and rolled up the bottoms of his jeans upon sitting down. Anubis, however, had his leather jacket on as well as combat boots and black jeans, he had to be melting on the spot.

"How are you not dying from overheating?" he asked, incredulity filling his voice.

Anubis looked surprised at the question, "I haven't really thought about the heat, I don't really feel the change in temperature. And either way, I can't die from heat, I'm immortal."

"Yeah, I forget you're a god sometimes."

Anubis rolled his eyes.

"So, when do you want to learn Death Magic?" he asked, his voice seemingly eager, if that was even possible.

"Whenever, I guess. Just not today. I want to enjoy this day to the fullest," Nico replied, his face turned up towards the sun. Crap, he would probably get freckles from the sunlight. Hazel would fawn over it again.

He sat there for a while before he noticed the absence of a tall figure beside him.

He glanced over at the place where Anubis should have been and found nothing but a large, black jackal.

He scoffed. Anubis looked at him with judging eyes, the sun reflecting in his golden irises, making them glow. He shuffled closer and tried leaning his head on top of Nico's lap, but was swatted away by the cat, the animal hissing and smacking the god's nose.

Anubis growled lowly and bared a bit of his teeth to the cat skeleton, at which the cat flattened its ears and started meowing deeply, anger filling the sound.

"Hey, no fighting. Anubis, you have to lay beside me, and not pick on the animals that are a lot smaller than you," Nico scolded, a smirk in his voice.

The jackal looked up at him with an annoyed expression, but Nico furrowed his brows and the god lowered its head to the grass beside Nico's thigh, a low whine escaping its throat.

"Hey, none of that."

Anubis grew silent, as well as the cat, which had curled up on the demigod's lap again, purring satisfyingly.

Nico smiled and lowered his right hand to Anubis head. He stroked the fur and scratched the god lightly behind the ears.

"You act all high and mighty sometimes, but you're actually just a huge teddy bear, aren't you?" he teased Anubis, earning him a flick by one of the jackal's ears.

Nico laughed and continued petting.

Seriously, what was he doing? The god had proven manipulative on more than one occasion and probably found more enjoyment in watching Nico torture than the demigod did. But he was surprisingly easy to be around, even if he always showed up unexpectedly.

He shook his head while smiling and turned his face towards the sun. At least he could enjoy this one moment.

* * *

[Last edited: 11.08.2017]


	7. Chapter 7

The magic training started the next day.

Anubis had seemed eager enough to start at once and Nico saw no reason not to learn magic during his free time. In fact, he felt some excitement run through him at the thought of knowing more about the grey light that had surrounded the god's fingers when he'd used death magic.

Nico had left the comfort of his hotel room to shadow travel to their agreed location. It was a secluded area of a large forest not far from Venice, and the demigod found he quite liked the clearing.

Anubis was leaning up against a tree, his jacket folded beside him on the ground. He looked bored but seemed to light up when he spotted Nico. The demigod stopped and watched as the other walked towards him.

Anubis walked slowly, something akin to a smirk on his face.

"You kept me waiting, I almost thought you'd forgotten about me."

Nico cringed inwardly at the skip his heart made at the god's voice. "Yeah, sorry. Had to get some food."

Anubis cocked his head sideways - Nico bit back a dog remark, "Mortal food. I wonder what it tastes like."

Nico raised an eyebrow, "You've never tasted human food?"

The god shook his head, "I don't need to eat it, therefore I never felt the need to taste it. After all, I am immortal."

Nico rolled his eyes at the reminder, "That's no reason not to eat ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

Nico laughed, "Yeah, it's milk and stuff mixed together, then frozen into ice. You eat it, and it even has different flavours."

Anubis seemed puzzled by that, his eyebrows furrowing, it was a bit cute, "Hm, that sounds rather odd."

"We can go get some afterwards if you want," the demigod offered.

Anubis studied him for a second, "...Very well. But first you shall learn."

Nico straightened, "Right. Death magic."

* * *

"Good," Anubis said. "Just like that, concentrate."

Easy for him to say, Nico thought. He wasn't the one bent over a flower trying to turn it to dust. He squinted and focused all his energy into his fingertips which were gently wrapped around the stem of a daisy.

Nothing happened.

He heard Anubis sigh. Turning to him, he raised an eyebrow.

"What?" the god asked.

"The sigh…?" the demigod retorted.

Anubis furrowed his brow, "I thought you would get the hang of it at once."

Nico stared back at the flower and grit his teeth, of course this one would also find him disappointing.

"Well, sorry if I don't live up to your standards, you were the one who offered to teach me, remember."

He felt the anger raise inside him and tried not to crush the flower in his hands.

"We all make mistakes, don't we? You would know," Anubis replied, his voice irritatingly smug.

Nico grit his teeth and was about to give the god a piece of his mind when he saw what was happening to the flower. The petals had started to turn grey and were slowly disintegrating. The dust slipped through his fingers and down onto the grass.

"Wow," he heard Anubis say behind him.

He turned and saw that the god was looking at the ground beneath him. He looked down.

The grass around him had all but disappeared entirely, leaving only grey dust behind.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, "It would seem it spread from your hands and through the flower."

Nico stared down at the ground. Had his anger done this?

"Splendid. Even better than I'd hoped," Anubis whispered.

Nico felt that he should pick up on something in those words, but the god's fingers on his shoulder were too warm and his voice too appraising.

* * *

Nico felt the other's presence before he heard him walk beside him.

"You don't have to come with me on every task, y'know," he said, not sparing a glance at the Egyptian god.

Anubis said nothing but Nico saw a smirk appear on his face.

Ignoring the god, he trudged on.

It was dark and that suited him just fine, he wouldn't need light to do what he was supposed to.

The street was not nearly as empty as he would have hoped, but no-one seemed to spare him a second glance, or a first glance for that matter. It was an odd effect he had on people.

He continued forward until he found the alley he was looking for. He slipped inside and took a left turn then a right turn and then a left turn again. He now stood outside a dark wooden door, and here there were no-one occupying the street beside him and Anubis, who was still following him.

Nico opened the door without knocking and walked inside, Anubis tailing behind him.

The entry was dark, a single wax candle illuminating the far end of the hallway.

Nico walked forward and noticed a door to the left of the candle. He lowered his hand onto the hilt of his sword and opened the door slowly.

He spotted the little girl sitting opposite him immediately. She was clad in dark clothes with almost equal dark skin and even darker hair. Her eyes lifted from the book in her lap to meet his when he entered – they were empty of emotion.

She raised an eyebrow, "Customers, at this hour?" She eyed Nico and her gaze landed on his sword. "I guess not."

The son of Hades noticed that her body tensed, ready to fight or flee at any moment.

"We're not here to fight, we just want some information," he said, lifting his hands to signify peace, even though his focus were now on the three flower pots in the room. He sensed the earth within them and willed it to move towards the girl, fortunately, none of the pots were in her line of sight at the moment, and she wouldn't notice the soil moving on its own.

He moved forward and sat down on another chair in the room, directly opposite the girl. She seemed to relax a bit at his peaceful demeanour, but was still on guard.

"What kind of information?" she asked, eyeing Anubis whom had sat down on the floor beside the door.

"We heard you had information about people, _a lot_ of people," Nico replied.

"I do have information about people, but what makes you think I'll give it to you?"

Nico leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, "I think you'll give it to me, since I know about your current _position_."

The girl raised an eyebrow and eyed his sword again. Then she bolted, or tried to, only to find her feet stuck in soil.

Nico smirked, "Oh, you're not going anywhere." He stood up, "You'll sit right here in this chair and tell me everything you know about Saltus' contacts."

The girl's eyes widened at the god's name and she tried to free herself. Nico pushed her back into the chair and grabbed her hands in one hand and her hair in his other. He tapped his foot on the ground and it cracked open, a few skeletal hands reaching up to grab her shoulders and hands, keeping them still against the chair.

"I won't tell you anything," the girl spat at him.

Nico shrugged, "I had a feeling you might say that." He grabbed her hand and studied the well-manicured nails.

"So, what? You're going to torture me with that sword or knife? A little girl?" she tried in a sweet voice.

Nico squinted at her, "Please, we both know that's not your actual appearance, you just like this one because people tend to pity small girls. Shapeshifting into other people is your thing, after all." He grabbed a pen lying on the table at her side, "Y'know, some forms of gaining information are so much easier than others. You don't need fancy tools to make someone talk. You can use the simplest objects, a pen for example."

He placed the pen between her index and middle finger and squeezed her hand, the digits forced apart by the pen between them.

The girl wailed in pain and thrashed, the skeletal hands rattling. Nico ignored her and squeezed harder, feeling the hand spasm as the nerves were assaulted with painful stimuli.

"No, please stop! AAAHHH!" the girl screamed, her body bucking in the chair.

Nico paused, "You want to tell me about them?"

The girl glared but told him one name and address, "I won't tell you anything else."

"I guess we'll just have to try a little harder to remember then," the demigod replied, and glanced around for something else he could possibly use.

"She has a lot of skin, this girl," Anubis spoke up, suddenly beside him. "You won't miss this tiny bit right here, will you?" He pointed to her thigh.

He looked at Nico, "Won't you cut of a tiny bit of skin right here, you can train with it later, flesh is best to use for training."

The son of Hades stared at him, was he asking him to flay part of this person? He frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Anubis leaned towards him and tucked some hair behind his ear.

"Won't you do that for me, Nico?"

Nico blinked slowly, his eyes lost in the god's endlessly dark eyes.

He nodded numbly and smiled. He turned towards the girl again and barely noticed that Anubis had handed him a knife.

He sliced apart her pant-leg and felt her strain against the hands holding her.

"Don't worry, I'll just take this part here." His voice sounded far away, even though it was his own voice.

He made the first incision and felt the skin give way to the knife, splitting open in its wake. Dark, red blood flowed from the wound and dripped onto the floor. He lifted the knife and prepared to make another slice.

"I'll tell you another name!" the girl said her voice desperate as she stared at Nico with wild eyes, her cheeks streaked with tears. She told him yet another name and address.

Nico nodded and made a second incision, the muscles in the leg twitching. He slit the skin open a third time and ignored the screams of the girl. He slid the blade across the skin a fourth time and lifted it to cut the flake away.

"Stooooop! Agh- Stop!"

Nico ignored her and neatly cut the skin away from her leg, holding it up to look at it, the blood seeping into his shirt.

"Why?! I told you the names!" the girl thrashed again.

The demigod looked at her calmly, "You didn't."  
"Fuck you!" she said.

Nico moved the knife to the other leg, "I guess I'll just have to carve it out of you, then."

"No! No, please," she begged and told him the third name and address.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Nico grabbed her hand again and held it in his hand.

"What are you doing? I told you all the names!" she lied again.

Nico studied her fingers again, "Y'know. We don't need all five fingers, four will do just fine. A funny thing I can do is speed up the aging process. Or as my friend here likes to call it, death magic. I'll give you a hands-on demonstration."

He held only the girl's middle finger and concentrated. He saw the skin slowly start to turn yellow and then grey before it started to dissolve. He looked at the girl's face and saw that her face was contorted in pain but it was so painful it seemed she couldn't utter a sound.

He gripped another finger and started aging it too, focusing his attention to the agony on the girl's face, how her eyes widened and her mouth opened as if to scream, only for no sound to come out. She then stared at him and anger filled her features along with the pain.

Nico let go of her hand and looked at her in anticipation. She told him the last name and address.

The son of Hades smiled, "Thank you. If you had just told me in the beginning, none of this would have happened, I guess it's kind of your fault."

Her eyes narrowed and she smirked, then her features changed and she suddenly had Percy's face.

When she spoke, Percy's voice was her new voice, "You betrayed him, didn't you? It was your fault he fell into Tartarus. I've seen it in your fears."

Nico glared, "You'd be wise not to peek into my emotions, parasite. If you want to live that is."

Percy smiled at him and changed into Maria di Angelo, "If you hadn't been born I would still be alive, my son."

Nico gripped the knife still in his hand tighter but willed his sadness and anger away, "She would still have died, since Bianca was also a child of Hades."

"But it was your fault I died, Nico," Bianca di Angelo's voice spoke.

Nico blinked away his tears as he stared at his sister's face.

"I would be alive if you weren't here, I wouldn't have to look after you. I would be with the Hunters of Artemis if it weren't for you," Bianca spat. "You'd be better off dead!"

The demigod squeezed his eyes shut and felt his jaw ache from his gritting teeth. His cheeks were now wet with tears.

" _We'd_ be better off dead," the shapeshifter spoke in Nico's voice.

Nico's eyes flew open and he stared at his own face, the empty eyes staring back at him.

"Right?" Nico spoke again.

Before he knew it, Nico had taken a step forward and buried the knife from Anubis into his own chest. He pulled it out and thrust it into his chest again. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and stabbed it into Nico di Angelo's torso, pulled it out and stabbed again, and again, and again, and again. He watched his face contort in pain and his body thrashing as he screamed.

He pulled the blade out again and buried it to the hilt in Nico's neck.

He stared at the mutilated body and smiled. Nico was better off dead anyway.

He looked at the parasite's face. A blank head stared back, no ears, no eyes, no nose, no mouth, just a blank skin surface covering the entire skull.

"It would seem it took its true appearance in death," Anubis spoke up beside him.

Nico stared at the creature, "Don't we all?"

He bent down and picked up the discarded skin-flap. He handed it over to the god.

The Lord of Funerals raised an eyebrow, "You should use it for training."

Nico shrugged, "I just used that creature for training."

A hungry look crossed the god's face and he stepped closer.

Nico looked at him as Anubis cradled his face with one hand and the demigod's eyes widened as he leaned down and kissed him.

"A reward," the god said in the air between their mouths.

Nico swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, "Since when has that been a reward?"

"Since now," was the reply as the other kissed him again, gripping his hair and pulling him closer.

Nico's hands rested on Anubis' chest and he leaned as close as he could to receive more rewards.

He felt slightly out of breath as the god pulled away and slid his thumb across his cheek.

"You had some blood on your face," he said and licked the blood off his finger. Nico felt blood rush to unspeakable places and he blinked slowly at the god.

Anubis smiled at him, "I guess we have a couple more visits to pay in the next few weeks."

Nico smiled back at him, dazed, "Yeah, more souls to collect."


	8. Chapter 8

The next target was a woman, supposedly one with the ability to see the future.

Nico felt wary of this fact. Who was to say she hadn't foreseen him coming for her?

He shook his head as he walked - he would just have to try.

Yet again, it was dark outside. He preferred it, even though he could carry out his task regardless of time of day.

As always, Anubis was walking beside him, his human appearance a constant at this point. Nico wondered briefly what mortals without clear sight saw when he was in his godly form. Perhaps they thought he had a very large nose, since it was a jackal head. The thought made him chuckle, earning him a questioning look from the god in question.

"Something funny, son of Hades?"

The demigod shook his head, the image of Anubis with an inhumanly large nose still in his head, "No, just thought of you with a huge nose."

Anubis frowned, "You find that amusing, do you?"

"C'mon, would be pretty funny, you with those deadly cheekbones and flawless hair, and then, in the middle of your face, that huuuuuge nose."

Anubis scoffed, he didn't look amused at all by the thought.

Nico bumped his shoulder into the other's, "Hey, it's just a joke. Learn to live a little."

Over the past two months he'd known the god, he'd grown used to his presence, sought it out even. He was still wary of Anubis' manipulating behaviour, but he figured he could withstand it at this point.

Even so, he couldn't deny his obvious attraction towards the Egyptian. It didn't seem like his feelings were going away over time, rather growing stronger each passing day. He had scolded himself over it, it wasn't like he _wanted_ to feel this way. He knew fully well that Anubis was a god, an Egyptian god at that, as well as having a terribly manipulative personality, but he couldn't help it. Anubis was ridiculously attractive, and he didn't seem to dislike what Nico was doing for his father; It seemed he encouraged it.

He hadn't talked to Anubis about his feelings, but he could imagine he already knew. The god seemed to enjoy his company at least, seeing as he tagged along everywhere he went, even if he wasn't searching for the next target.

A sound in front of them drew him out of his thoughts. Anubis was staring forward, towards the source of the sound.

"You don't think that came from-" Nico started, but he had already started running towards the house they were headed for.

The building was small and looked inviting; looks can be deceiving, it would seem, seeing as there had been a number of deaths connected to the place.

Nico walked towards it, his hand on his sword. He was wary of what they would find inside, and he didn't feel like being surprised. He felt slightly more at ease with Anubis at his side, but he wasn't sure he trusted him with watching his back just yet.

Having reached the door, he stopped to listen. It was too quiet.

"Stay on guard," he said absentmindedly.

He heard Anubis scoff from behind, "When am I not on guard?"

Nico had some examples, but bit them back, this was not the time for bickering.

He stepped forward and placed his hand on the door-handle, slowly easing the door open. He walked inside and found himself in a deserted hallway, a single light shining from a lamp on the wall.

A few pair of shoes were placed neatly along one side and some jackets hung on the other.

"I can't feel anyone inside," he notified Anubis, the other having followed him inside.

He walked towards a door to the right, pushed it open, and walked into the living-room.

A sofa was placed along one wall, a bookshelf beside it. There was a kitchen table placed at the entry to the kitchen, which was small and well-used.

Nico watched as Anubis walked around the room, looking for anything out of place. It seemed he found nothing of importance.

They went on to search the entire house, but everything looked normal.

"Where do you think she went?" Anubis mused. "And how did she travel?"

The demigod thought about that for a second. As he looked around the room, he suddenly spotted some paw-prints on the carpet. The material of the carpet was so dark that they were nearly invisible. He walked closer to examine them.

"These are hellhound prints. I've seem Mrs. O'leary's paw-prints too many times not to recognize them," he told the god.

Anubis made an 'ah' sound, "So she shadow-travelled."

Nico stood up, "Where to, though?"

He walked over to the kitchen table, sorting the papers strewn out on it. He found some old coupons and a newspaper, but nothing about a secret hideout.

"Nico, come take a look at this."

The demigod in question turned and saw Anubis rifling through some files in a cabinet. He held out a sheet with Greek written on it.

Nico walked over and read it, "It seems she went to a warehouse of some sort."

Anubis nodded, "Then let's go."

The demigod grabbed his hand and pulled him into the shadows.

* * *

Nico stepped out of the shadows, for once not feeling as if he wasn't filled with darkness. Having Anubis with him made the travelling easier for some reason. Maybe it was just the company, or the fact that he also used shadow-travel of some sort and possibly took some of the tool off his shoulders. He wasn't sure.

He let go of the Egyptian's hand and looked around the warehouse. It was big and filled with huge crates, most likely for shipping. There was a smell in the air, however, that alerted him to the fact that something was wrong.

"What is this place?" he wondered aloud.

Walking forward, he felt the scent getting stronger. He felt that he should know it for some reason, but there were two scents mixed and he couldn't tell them apart.

"Wait," Anubis said, his hand gripping Nico's forearm. "There is definitely something amiss here. Let's proceed with extreme caution."

Nico nodded, he felt as if his body was thrumming. His instincts telling him that this was very dangerous.

They walked forward together, their steps sending tiny echoes through the giant building. They rounded a corner and suddenly noticed what the danger was.

In front of them, on the floor, lay a sleeping hydra.

Nico stood completely still, his breath coming in short spurts. This was extremely dangerous. He turned to look at Anubis and they shared a look that clearly said: "Let's get the f out of here".

They turned in unison and suddenly came face to face with another creature.

Nico stopped dead in his tracks, his feet rooted to the spot. He felt like he couldn't breathe.

It was a manticore.

The demigod felt as if he was a child again, his sister standing defensively in front of him as Percy heroically tried to fight Dr. Thorn.

He couldn't move, his body trembling with fear. He heard the manticore roar, the three rows of teeth stark in the ragged face. He could hear the hydra getting up behind them, clearly awakened by the sound.

He knew he was in mortal danger, but he couldn't move a muscle.

"Nico!" Anubis shook his shoulders, trying to pull him away from the monsters. He registered his voice, but he couldn't find it in him to answer.

"Nico! Come on. Snap out of it!" Anubis yelled, his face a mask of anguish. Huh, maybe he did care.

The manticore flicked its tail and sent spikes flying towards them. Nico felt them just miss his ear as they flew over his head, Anubis having managed to push him to the ground. The god himself hadn't been out of range and had been hit with a spike in his shoulder. He yelled in pain but tried to push Nico further out of the way.

The demigod watched his partner crumple beside him, another spike having hit his leg. He grit his teeth together and gripped his shoulder in pain.

Nico felt rage build inside him. That cursed creature had hurt his Anubis. He was his alone. He would be damned if he didn't maim them.

"Hold- on-" he managed to utter, his body still resisting him.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his back. It felt as if he had been poked by a hot iron.

He screamed in pain and ripped his jacket and shirt off, the clothes smouldering on the ground. It had snapped him out of his stupor for sure and he turned towards to hydra. It had obviously spit fire at him.

He turned again and looked at the manticore. His fear was completely cone now, his mind red with fury.

Quickly, he dragged the nearly unconscious god out of harms way. He heard the manticore roar and start running towards him. It was intercepted however, by the hydra. It seemed like it didn't like other creatures stealing its prey.

Nico ducked as a spike flew towards him. The manticore had its teeth buried in the hydra's neck. The hydra itself seemed unfazed and bit the manticore with one of its other heads.

The demigod couldn't see any opening in the battle for him to step in, and so he turned to Anubis on the ground.

The god was writhing in pain, the poison having set in.

"I need to pull them out," Nico said, crouching beside the other.

Anubis looked at him like he was crazy but soon grit his teeth and nodded.

"This is gonna hurt," Nico commented, curling his hand around one of the spikes. Without warning, he pulled it out, the flesh letting out a sickening squelch as he did.

Anubis screamed in pain and gripped his bleeding leg.

Nico was about to pull out the other, but the commotion had attracted the hydra's attention again.

It had shredded the manticore to pieces, but had some spikes stuck in its throat. Now it turned its gaze on Nico and started to advance.

The demigod sprinted away from Anubis. He had to lure the hydra to him and away from the god.

"Hey, you stupid snake, over here," he yelled, running around a corner of some crates.

He heard the hydra follow, its enormous body shoving the crates aside as it went.

Turning another corner, Nico found that he had no idea how to defeat the hydra. He couldn't cut of its head, and he wasn't sure his sword would absorb its essence quick enough for him not to be chomped of charred to a crisp. He remembered Percy having Medusa's head, but he obviously didn't have that either.

Pulling to a stop at Anubis' side, he quickly snagged the last spike from his shoulder, effectively making the god stifle a yell.

The god looked up at him, "Use the- magic…" He started to fade into unconsciousness. Nico was about to shake him when he heard the hydra coming closer.

Use death magic? Was that what Anubis meant?

Nico had never disintegrated anything as huge as the hydra, and he wasn't sure if he could get close enough without being attacked.

He started running away and saw the creature following him. They had moved some distance when Anubis suddenly shouted.

Nico turned and saw that the hydra now had turned its attention on the god. That idiot, he was using himself as bait.

Nico felt anger rise in his chest.

He knew Anubis was getting the hydra to focus on him so that he could get closer and use magic. Still, he didn't like the idea of the other getting any more hurt because of him.

He moved closer to the hydra, careful not to make too much sound. It seemed confused as to where the sound had come from, Anubis' body still lying limp on the ground. It stopped to sniff the air and that gave Nico the opportunity he needed to get within arm's reach.

He tried to get his head around how to muster the magic to do it, when the hydra perked up. Anubis had moved on the ground, and it had a new target. Nico couldn't allow for it to get any closer.

He tried to conjure the ashy smoke around his hand, but it only came in wisps and then disappeared. He cursed himself and tried again.

The hydra had suddenly stopped, and it made Nico look up. They were near Anubis and he heard the unmistakable sound of the fire gathering in the hydra's throat. He glanced down at the god and they locked eyes. Anubis smiled weakly and seemed to accept his fate.

Warmth blossomed in Nico's chest and poured into his body like molten lava. His head filled with hatred and rage. He placed his hands on the scaly skin of the hydra and mustered all his strength. His anger pulsed and sent a wave of ash into the monster.

The creature wailed in pain and thrashed as its body slowly disintegrated. Nico collapsed to the ground, his anger having vanished with it.

Anubis let out a moan of pain.

The demigod crawled over to him. His back was sending waves of pain through his body, the smell of his burnt flesh making bile rise in his throat.

The god was lying on the ground, motionless, but Nico could see he was still conscious, which was good.

He could think of only one place where he could take him. Jason would not be happy.

Wincing in pain, he grabbed the god's arm and tried to get him to stand.

"Come on, Anubis. Stay with me. You can't die on me like this."

Anubis mumbled something incoherent against his shoulder.

Nico moved his ear closer, "What was that?"

"I'm immortal, I can't die on you," the god said, his voice raspy.

"Oh. Right," Nico said. He'd almost forgotten that fact. He'd been put off by the other not moving, but that was most likely due to the poison.

He managed to get Anubis to walk with him to the edge of the warehouse. He stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.

Inside was an office. The wall decorated with pictures and notes in Greek.

Nico had no idea what it all meant, but he figured he could find some clue as to where the woman had gone. He grabbed all the notes and pictures, looking over the room to see if he had missed anything else. Here too there were hellhound-prints. She'd been there and laid that trap for them. She probably didn't think they'd survive. Joke's on her.

"I have to take you to the camp, Anubis," he told the god.

"No… You shouldn't…" he trailed off into unconsciousness.

Nico gripped him tight and walked into the shadows.

* * *

Hey guys, sorry for the delay... :( I hope you don't want to kill me


	9. Chapter 9

Having stumbled out of the shadows in Camp Half-Blood, Nico soon got the attention of the other campers.

"Get Will," he replied to their worried questions.

The campers nodded and some scurried off to get the son of Apollo, the others stayed behind to help Nico get Anubis over to the Hades cabin. Once inside, they carefully placed the god on one of the beds and left as Will entered, ushering them all out.

"Gods, Nico. What happened to you? And who is that?" Will seemed confused and worried as he took in the other's ragged face and his unconscious companion.

"A long story. And this is Anubis, Egyptian god of death," Nico tried not to wince as Will examined his burnt back. The healer was skilled and his hands skimmed the skin lightly, but still enough to be painful.

"You brought a god here? Do you really think that is a good idea?" Will had handed him some ambrosia and ordered him to eat it, then turning his attention to Anubis.

"I didn't know where else to take him, and you're the best healer I know." Nico bit into the ambrosia and watched as the son of Apollo expertly cut away the clothing covering the puncture wounds from the manticore-spikes. He sighed and began a hymn to his father, healing the wounds somewhat. He then bandaged them and nodded.

"The poison should be eliminated now, but the wounds will have to heal with nectar and ambrosia," Will stood up and turned on Nico, his gaze stern. "He wouldn't be in any mortal danger, seeing as he's a god, but the poison would cause him extreme pain."

Nico nodded, grateful that his friend helped him without question.

"Care to tell me why you fought with a manticore? And whatever made that terrible burn on your back? That'll heal but will leave a scar."

The son of Hades looked over at the sleeping god, deciding that he could tell Will something at least, "We were looking for someone and they set up a trap." He thought it best not to say anything more than that. He knew that Will of all people would detest what he had been doing lately.

"Sure that's everything, Nico?" Will didn't seem convinced. "You haven't been around lately and Jason seemed kinda pissed last he saw you."

Nico shrugged but didn't say anything. He glanced down at Anubis, the god was furrowing his brows in pain. Pulling a chair up to the bed, he sat down to pull the comforter over him.

He felt Will's stare and braced for the onslaught.

"You like him!"

There it was.

Will sat down on a chair beside him, "You like him. You- How come I didn't know about this? Is that why Jason's mad? Is he just really protective?"

Nico rolled his eyes, "Maybe I like him. And no, Jason's just got a stick up his ass."

He looked over and saw the shit-eating grin on the other's face. He blushed despite himself and saw the grin broaden.

"Oh, Nico," Will began. "You've got it good, my friend."

* * *

Having kicked Will out after he wouldn't stop teasing, Nico felt like taking a shower. He made sure Anubis was okay and headed off.

The water felt cool on his seared skin, just short of painful. It seemed like the wound had closed at least, but old blood swirled down the drain.

He stood for some time, then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, careful to have it low enough not to disturb the burn. He stepped out and was met with a dishevelled Anubis.

He had the audacity to blush again, very aware of his exposed skin.

The god seemed surprised and wasn't as quick to compose himself as he thought. He gave Nico a once-over and smirked. Stepping closer, he trailed his finger along the demigod's collarbone. Nico shivered.

"You look refreshed," Anubis commented. "A shame you didn't invite me in with you."

Nico's eyelids felt heavy and he shuddered as he felt the other's hand skim his left shoulder, moving forward until it met the edge of the burn on his back. The demigod winced and saw a flash of confusion cross Anubis' face.

He turned Nico slightly and his eyes turned possibly murderous as he took in the burnt flesh. He touched it tentatively before looking deep into Nico's eyes.

Nico swallowed.

Never before had he seen Anubis this furious, and it both scared him and turned him on.

"It hurt you," the god stated, his hand now gripping Nico's shoulder. "I'll make them pay, even if I have to search the entire globe to find them."

Nico's eyes widened. Did Anubis care about him that much? It seemed surreal to have the other so devoted to him, even though he never let on to it.

He shuddered again and slid his hand up the god's neck, "Wherever you go, I go."

A hungry look filled Anubis' eyes and he pulled Nico by the neck into a searing kiss.

The demigod squeezed his eyes shut and held on for dear life. Oh, how much he wanted, no needed to feel the god's body against him. He pressed back and met the other's hungry lips in another kiss. He slid his hand along Anubis' cheek and opened his mouth to let the god's tongue inside. His knees felt weak and he grabbed onto the god's shoulder to keep upright. Sliding his tongue against Anubis' he risked it and bit the other's bottom lip. The god growled, and Nico's head was suddenly yanked backwards by his hair.

Anubis's mouth now assaulted Nico's neck, biting and sucking dark blooms into his pale skin. Nico couldn't keep back his moan and dug his nails into the god's shoulders. He felt Anubis grin against his throat and then his mouth was occupied again. He moaned again and slipped his hands into Anubis' hair. Then he felt something sticky between his fingers and pulled away from the other.

Anubis chased his mouth but looked down as Nico held his hand out between them; it was slick with ichor.

Nico swallowed, "As much as I'd like to continue this, I think you should drink some nectar and eat ambrosia to start the healing."

Anubis scoffed, "It's just a little blood, it'll heal on its own." He leaned forward to capture the demigod's lips once more.

Nico almost gave in but willed himself to pull back, "I don't want any more blood on my hands. And you look like you could use a shower, to be honest."

The Egyptian looked down at himself. His clothes were cut open and ichor had started to seep through the remainder of his shirt. He shrugged but seemed to agree as he stole one last kiss and glance and disappeared into the shower.

Nico sighed and stared down at his hands, at least the blood had made his other problem begin to go away, but he thought about a naked Dionysus just to be sure it went completely.

He washed the ichor off and got dressed. He then walked over to his bedside table, where he'd dropped the notes from the warehouse.

There were some pictures of some other people, Nico assumed they were the other contacts, and notes in Greek. The written notes referred to specific places and he guessed those were the places to start looking.

He was trying to sort them according to with was most likely a hiding place, when two arms snaked up his back. He shivered as the passed his wound and turned around.

Anubis had wet hair for a change and was very shirtless, this noted with a swallow on Nico's part. He had a bit of ambrosia stuck in his mouth and the puncture wounds were already starting to close.

"Have you found out where they're hiding?" Anubis asked, his fingers stroking beneath Nico's chin.

The demigod closed his eyes a second before conveying what he had collected from the notes. The Egyptian nodded as he explained, rummaging through his drawers for some new clothes. The shirt was a bit to tight for him and it made his sinewy muscles evident. Nico was definitely not complaining.

"I think this is the best place to start," he said, pointing to a note he had picked out.

Anubis walked over and Nico explained what the note said. The god nodded and they agreed to head out in the morning.

Nico felt like his body was shouting at him to sleep and he honestly wasn't sure if he could stay awake for much longer. He had crawled into bed, having removed his pants and was preparing to fall asleep when he felt hands yet again snake up his back. He turned and saw Anubis looking down at him.

"You wanna sleep in here?" Nico asked. "There's so little space."

Anubis gave him a look and transformed into a jackal, curling up at the foot of his bed.

The demigod stared at him in wonder and shook his head, his mind already falling into deep, dream-filled sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_Nico stood beside three men._

 _They were speaking loudly, clearly not aware of his presence._

 _"They fell right into her trap," one of them said. The others laughed._

 _Nico guessed that these were the men that worked with Saltus and the woman they mentioned was the clairvoyant. Now he knew what they looked like at least._

 _"Some stupid kids can't beat her," another man said. "She's too smart."_

 _They all started laughing but stopped quickly when an Iris-message appeared before them. They straightened and the largest guy, Nico presumed he was the leader, stepped forward._

 _From his view-point, Nico couldn't see what the person sending the message looked like, but it was clearly a woman, judging by her voice._

 _"They survived the trap, and all our notes are gone," the woman said. Gaging by their reaction, this was not something they'd anticipated._

 _"What?!" the male spokesperson said. "Then they know where we are, don't they?"_

 _"Calm down. Yes, they know where our hideouts are, but that doesn't change anything," the woman's voice said, her tone dripping with malice. "I want you to stay put. It's time we stop hiding and teach those brats a lesson."_

 _The men cheered at that and Nico's vision faded._

* * *

Nico opened his eyes and immediately noticed a body wrapped around his own. He glanced down and spotted Anubis curled around his torso, his head resting on his shoulder. The god's face was relaxed, his breath coming out in slow waves; the air brushed over Nico's bare chest causing goose-bumps to rise on his skin.

The demigod tried to extract himself out of Anubis' arms, but he just tightened them and let out a whine.

Nico sighed, "I was planning to get things done today, Anubis."

"But you're so warm and cozy," Anubis answered, nuzzling his face further into Nico's shoulder. He got up on one elbow and leaned over to look down at the demigod's face. Nico looked up at him. This close he could see every detail in the other's face. His eyes were the colour of dark chocolate, framed by long lashes. It was odd to think that these were the same eyes he felt terrified of when they glowed yellow in the forest that first night. He felt no fear when he looked into them now, only a belonging with someone who felt exactly like him, who was filled with the same dark energy as himself. He had felt alone for so long, it was strange to have Anubis, who he should definitely be wary of, lie beside him and actually want him. Even if he might have had ulterior motives when they met, Nico was sure he had let go of most of them. He wasn't naïve, he knew Anubis was flawed, but he wanted to bring the best of him out, and he felt like he was getting there.

"We still have to get out and stop those guys," he said, bringing his hand up to swipe some of the god's bangs out of the way. He looked down and felt the area where the manticore spike had punctured his skin. It was smooth, but the scar tissue was already evident.

"It healed already," Nico mused, prodding the pink skin.

Anubis squirmed, "Stop that, it feels weird." The demigod smirked and tickled the skin, only stopping when his hand was grabbed. He smiled sheepishly as the god traced his hand with his thumb, the fingertip following the curves of his scars.

Anubis looked at him and Nico swallowed, his mouth dry. The god smiled and leaned down to press his lips firmly against the demigod's. Nico welcomed it and hummed, his hands slipping into Anubis' hair to pull him closer. He lightly bit his lip, grabbed the god's shoulders and flipped them over.

He straddled Anubis' hips and leaned his weight on his hands on each side of the god's head, looking down at him. Anubis looked surprised and his pupils were dilated.

Nico grinned and lowered his head, kissing Anubis softly. The god pressed back and his hands snaked around Nico's back to stroke his back, his fingers gently tracing the outline of the newly formed scar.

The demigod licked Anubis' lips and slipped his tongue inside once granted entrance. He moved his hand to cup the god's neck, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

Anubis pulled him down to him and Nico felt something hard press against his thigh. He gasped and shuddered, feeling Anubis smile against his mouth.

Pulling away, Nico swallowed, "Let's continue this at a later time, when we're not searching for murderous people."

Anubis scowled at him, leaned up and kissed him again, "Okay, but don't think you're getting away that easy."

Nico rolled his eyes.

* * *

Having planned their destination, based on the Greek notes, Nico grabbed some ambrosia just in case. He grabbed his sword and they were off.

They walked out of the shadows in front of a giant mansion.

Nico looked around, taking in the isolated location. The mansion was walled in on all sides, only one gate leading into the property. Nico couldn't see any houses nearby and knew that this was the perfect spot to hide for someone who didn't want to be found, the place not likely having had any visitors the last century.

"Well, this looks like a nice murder-house," Anubis said from beside him.

Nico scoffed, "Yeah, looks so inviting and everything."

He started to walk towards the main-entrance, his shoes echoing off the stairs. He grabbed the door handle and found the door to be ajar. He pushed it open and entered the house.

The entry was enormous, it would take a long time to search the entire place.

"Should we split up? It'll take too long search otherwise," he said, turning to Anubis.

The god nodded and headed towards the stairs to the second floor. Nico stared at his back as he left and moved to search the first floor.

He walked down the hall and headed for what he thought was the kitchen. It was empty, but he decided to look for anything noticeable. He opened the refrigerator and found it full of containers filled with blood. Furrowing his brow, he left it and, stepped into something looking like the pantry and found three huge freezers. He opened one and almost gagged at the sight. The freezer was filled with human body-parts - arms, legs, and ribs packed in plastic bags.

Nico opened the two other freezers and found them too to be full of body-parts. These people were obviously not only contacts of Saltus but also did some shady things on the side.

He shook his head in disgust and moved on, noticing a door on his left. He opened it and saw steps leading down into a basement. He found the switch and flipped it, the steps down bathed in surprisingly bright light.

He walked down, his eyes widening at the sight that met him at the bottom of the stairs. The room was filled with contraptions, _torture_ contraptions. He saw an Iron Maiden stuck in one corner, a rack in another and a chair with straps for the wrists, ankles and neck. Chains hung from the walls and he could see skulls lining one wall. He grit his teeth when he noticed that some of them were children skulls. These sick bastards were gonna pay.

He walked forward and noticed buckets on the floor. One bucket was filled with cut-off fingers and toes, the other buckets filled with nails and bloody bones.

Nico turned and gagged, the smell hitting his nose. He felt his eyes watering ash he dry heaved, his stomach turning.

A sound behind him made him look up and just avoid the first hit. The second one, however, hit him right in the stomach, sending him to the floor.

His vision swam as he was grabbed by the shoulders and hauled over to the chair. His wrists were strapped down along with his legs and neck. He looked at his attackers, recognising them as the three men from his dream. The two strapping him down were the goons, and the leader was standing with his arms crossed in the corner, a smug expression on his face.

Nico tried to focus. Maybe he could shadow-travel if he was focused enough. He closed his eyes and ignored the pain in his stomach. He was slapped across the face by the man to his right. His eyes shot open at the sting.

The leader stepped forward, "Who are you and who sent you?"

Nico glared at him, but kept his mouth shut.

The man came closer, leaning down to be on eye-level with the demigod, "You know why we cut those people up? They're demigods, and we all know that there are some monsters that love to eat demigod flesh. And some like to drink their blood. For the humans with sight like we have, finding them is easy, and no-one will miss them, they're worthless."

Nico spit in his face.

The leader reeled back and wiped his face furiously, "Fine, stay quiet. We'll get the answers out of you wither way." He nodded to his grunts.

The son of Hades felt one man grab his hair and pull his head slightly backwards, so that it was at an angle. The other grabbed a damp towel from a table and placed it over his face, it smelled like blood and sweat.

Nico knew what would come next, but nothing could prepare him for the actual feeling of the water being poured slowly over his face.

The water seeped into the towel and started running into his mouth, keeping it closed impossible at the angle he was held. The water filled his mouth and he gagged. He couldn't breathe - it felt like he was drowning.

He gagged again and coughed as the water stopped flowing.

"You can stop this anytime," the leader told him, having leaned close to his ear. "Just tell me who you are and who sent you."

Nico gulped in damp air, "F-fuck you…"

The man sighed.

Nico felt the water rushing over his face again, filling his mouth and running down his throat. He gagged and tried counting.

15, 16, 17…

He felt his lungs scream at him to breathe. His ears were buzzing and his hands were straining against the straps.

The water stopped.

"Who are you, and who sent you?"

"Go- fuck yourself-"

The water started running.

30, 31, 32…

He felt his consciousness slipping.

The water suddenly stopped and he gasped. Blood was rushing in his ears, his lungs burning as he gulped in air.

He heard a sickening crack beside him and a thump of something hitting the floor.

The towel was removed and he dragged in a deep breath of fresh air, blinking against the harsh light.

Anubis was standing over him, his face a mask of absolute terror. He brushed hair out of Nico's face and cupped his cheeks.

"Are you okay, did they hurt you in any other way?" his voice sounded terrible, a mix of fury and worry.

Nico swallowed, "I'm okay, they wanted to know who sent us."

Anubis removed the restraints and helped Nico to his feet. The son of Hades dragged in a ragged breath as he was pulled into a hug by the god, Anubis' arms gripping him tightly.

He hugged him back and let his breathing steady.

Over the other's shoulder, he could see the unconscious body of the leader in the corner of the room. One of the two grunts had a broken neck and the other had been reduced to a pile of ash.

Burrowing his face into Anubis' shoulder, he breathed in his earthy scent, "How come you didn't come right away? You always seem to be able to tell where I am."

The god stroked his hair, "Something was clouding my sight of where you were, but I knew that something was terribly wrong." He tightened his grip. "I looked for you everywhere before I found the door to the basement. It seems like it was shrouded in something to make it less obvious."

Nico nodded, "What do we do with the last one?"

Anubis looked back at the man crumpled in the corner, "We could get him to tell us the location of the woman."

The son of Hades nodded again. He pulled away from the god and made his way over to the leader. He leaned down and grabbed his arm, signalling to Anubis to do the same. They pulled the man over to the chair and strapped him down. Nico grabbed the bucket of water and splashed it in his face. The man jolted awake and sputtered.

"What the fuck-" he glanced up and noticed that he was the one strapped down. "What-?" He looked down at the corpse beside him. "You killed him, you fucker!"

Nico ignored his comment. Leaning closer, he looked the man in the eye, "That's what happens to monsters like you. Even though you might call yourself a human, you're worse than any monsters I've met." He straightened, "Now, you'll tell us where your female leader is."

The man stared at him, glaring, "As if I'll tell anything."

Nico shrugged, "We'll get it out of you eventually." He turned and investigated the table filled with instruments. He found a pair of pincers, cutting pliers and a hammer. He walked back to the man and saw him take in the sight of the tools.

"What- what're you gonna do to me? You know I won't tell you anything," he sounded confident, but there was a slight waver in his voice that gave him away.

Nico smiled sweetly at him, "I'm going to give you a taste of your own medicine." He grabbed the pincers and pressed the man's left hand to keep it still as he placed the nail of the index finger in the pincers. He tugged the pincers forcibly and watched the nail being pulled up from the nailbed, thin strings of flesh dangling from the bloody underside.

The man screamed in pain and bucked in the chair. Nico saw tears in the corner of his eyes.

"You want to tell me where she is?" he asked, letting the nail slip out of the pincers and into the bucket beside him, joining the other torn-off tails already in there.

The man gasped, "Fuck- you…"

Nico placed the nail on his middle finger in the pincers and locked eyes with the leader, "I'm going to pull out all your fingernails and if you haven't told me anything by that time I'll find more to do." He pulled and heard the scream tear from the man's throat. Not giving the man another pause, he grabbed the next nail and ripped that out as well. The man wailed and shook in his restraints.

"Gah- ah- stop!" he yelled, tears spilling from his eyes.

Nico ignored him and pulled another nail out, and another. The man groaned in pain and his hand spasmed against the demigod's grip.

"Just tell me where she is, and this can all be over," he whispered into the leader's ear.

He shivered and shook his head weakly in response.

Nico grabbed the cutting pliers from the floor and didn't hesitate as he positioned the thumb in the middle. He grit his teeth and heard a "wait-" just before he tightened his grip. He heard an almost hollow crack and saw the finger fall to the floor. He shivered and felt an intrigued smile form on his lips. He should feel sick to his stomach but felt a sort of satisfaction at watching the man screaming in pain and bucking in the seat. He wasn't sure if it was because the man had done horrible things, but he felt there was something else as well. It felt like doing this filled a sort of hole in him that he was unaware existed.

He felt a soft breath against his neck and felt lips press a gentle kiss against his nape. He leaned into what he knew was Anubis and shuddered as the god bit his skin lightly.

"You're doing so good, Nico. I'm so proud of you," the god whispered against his ear.

Nico turned his head and stared deep into Anubis' eyes. He sighed and closed the distance between them, kissing the Egyptian hard. He felt the other's hands grip his shoulder and hair, pulling him in.

"You two are- a sick couple," the man spoke up.

The son of Hades looked at him and smiled sweetly as he took hold of another finger in the pliers. He grinned as he snipped the digit off, the crack resonating in the basement. As the man was thrashing and screaming, he wasted no time and cut off another finger, the blood coating his hand and seeping into his sleeve.

He glanced up at the man and saw drool dribbling down his chin, his eyes wild as he stared at Nico.

The son of Hades raised his eyebrow and cupped a hand behind his ear, "Did, did you want to say something?"

The man gargled incoherently and managed to barely shake his head.

Nico nodded, "I understand. You're tired of losing digits. I can figure something else out." He leaned down and grabbed the hammer off the floor. Not giving any warning, he slammed it down on the leader's right hand. The bones gave away under the pressure and snapped with a sickening crunch.

The man screamed and babbled incoherently as he twitched in the chair.

Nico waited for him to calm down and possibly tell them something. Hearing nothing, he smashed the hammer into the left hand. He shuddered at the crack and felt a smile broaden on his face as the joints separated and the bones shattered.

The leader wasn't much of a leader anymore, having been reduced to a drooling and whimpering mess. His eyes were bloodshot, he looked like he had given up everything.

"Where is she?" Nico asked.

He waited in anticipation and sighed in relief as the man finally gave in and gave him the location.

"Thank you," the demigod said. He dropped the hammer and grabbed the knife from his belt. Jabbing it into the broken man's chest, watching in satisfaction as his body disintegrated and his energy was absorbed by the blade.

He rolled his sleeve up and man an incision in his forearm. He wanted to go after the woman right away and needed the energy to keep going. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and felt the energy surging through his body, filling every corner over him.

"I forgot how intoxicating absorbing a soul was," the demigod said, flexing his hand and grabbing a chunk of ambrosia from his pocket. He popped it into his mouth and felt it melt against his tongue. The wound on his arm closed and his head and lungs cleared.

He turned to Anubis, "Let's get out of here. I can't stand this room any longer."

The god nodded and they walked together up the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11

Nico sighed in relief as he was able to breathe the air outside the mansion. As much as that man deserved what he did to him, he started feeling sick as he remembered all those children skulls.

Anubis stroked his neck and kissed his temple, "You want to go immediately?"

Nico nodded and led them into the shadows, stepping out of them in front of a lonely house.

Wasting no time, they approached the front door. Anubis grabbed the door handle and entered the building.

Nico noticed the presence of two sets of bones in the house moving around, but there were many sets lying motionless in the ground around the house. There were possibly hundreds of corpses buried around on the property.

He locked eyes with Anubis and knew that he had noticed as well.

They moved into the house warily, on edge for anything that might be ready to jump out on them.

Nico gestured for the god to go left as he went right.

He walked towards the living room, his hand already hovering over his sword. The living-room was empty and he was about to head to what he guessed was a kitchen when he heard a growling coming from behind. He slowly turned around and spotted the hellhound, its body lowered, ready to attack.

Nico tried to move towards the door, but the hound snarled. The demigod stopped and opted to wait for Anubis to find him. A ruckus started in the other side of the house, and both he and the hellhound glanced to the door.

Nico jolted towards it and felt the hound's teeth snap behind his ankle. He slipped on the carpet and let himself slide down on the floor, ready for the hellhound to pounce on him. As the creature jumped, he raised the sword and sliced the hound's torso open. The monster disintegrated and was absorbed by the Stygian Iron blade.

The son of Hades quickly got up and sprinted towards the source of the commotion. He ripped open a door and saw Anubis standing with a woman. The female had her back turned to him and he locked eyes with the god just as the woman pushed a knife into the god's stomach, the Egyptian being distracted enough for her to stab him.

"No!" Nico screamed.

His head filled with red and before he knew it, he had jabbed his hand through the woman's chest, bits of bones stuck to his hand and forearm. He pulled his hand out again and watched the female crumple to the floor, her expression one of shock in the moment she had died.

Not giving her another thought, he turned to Anubis and quickly pulled the knife out of him. He stripped off his shirt and placed it on the wound, trying to stop the flow of ichor somewhat.

He got a bit of ambrosia out of his pocket and fed the god. Anubis ate it and winced as Nico grabbed another chunk.

He waited as the god ate the rest and lifted the shirt to inspect the stab-wound. Luckily, it had stopped bleeding and seemed to be healing okay.

Nico grabbed Anubis' shoulder and pulled him up, not looking back as they stumbled into the shadows.

* * *

They walked out of the shadows in cabin thirteen.

Nico helped Anubis over to the bed and made him lie down. He then moved to his bedside table and found the bottle of nectar Will had pestered him to keep. He grabbed it and helped the god take a few sips, watching the wound slowly heal.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat down on the bed beside the god, leaning his elbows on his knees. His hands were coated in both blood and ichor.

He looked down at Anubis and saw that he was sleeping. He smiled at the sight and decided that he really needed to take a shower.

Getting up, he stretched his back and threw his shirt in the trash. It was full of those bastards' blood and Anubis'. He felt sick at the glittering gold ichor.

He removed his other clothing and threw them in the hamper, those he could wash. He turned the water on and let the day's events sink in as he felt the liquid slosh over his head.

He'd done it. It was finished.

It was weird to think of all the people he'd killed, but at the end of the day, they deserved it. They were horrible people.

The weirdest thing of all was the journey he had with Anubis. He had been very careful with the god in the beginning and had over time come out of his shell and embraced the Egyptian for who he was. He was in way too deep to go back now and he didn't really want to.

Having washed away the blood and bone-splinters, he wrapped a towel around himself and went back to sitting beside Anubis on the bed. He got the shirt off the god and cleaned the area around the wound, wiping away the ichor. He was glad to see that the gash was completely closed now.

"You look wet," he heard Anubis say.

He scoffed, "That's what he said." He leaned over and brushed some hair out of the god's face. Anubis leaned into his touch and Nico's heart skipped a beat. Gods, this god was adorable.

The Egyptian lifted his hand and pulled Nico into a kiss. The demigod hummed and tilted his head to get better access, carding his hand through Anubis' hair. He let his weight sink until he was perched on the god's chest. He cupped the other's neck and kissed him hard.

He felt Anubis' hands slip over his shoulders and stroke his back, his nails scratching the scar. Nico moaned and shuddered. He felt the god grin against his lips and smiled.

"What?" he asked, moving his head to kiss the Egyptian's throat, feeling his Adam's apple bob as he spoke.

"You're cute."

Nico collapsed in giggles against the god's chest, "How can you just say that?"

"What, you don't like it? You're cute, cute, cute, cute, cu-" he was interrupted by Nico's hand covering his mouth.

* * *

Having told Hades that he had hunted down Saltus' contacts, Nico was told that the task was done, there was nothing else he needed his son to do.

Nico had left his father wondering what he would do next. He figured he would still be seeing Anubis, but what they'd be doing was something he wasn't sure of yet.

He met up with the Lord of Funerals at a graveyard in New Orleans, the god waiting for him on a bench. Nico made his way between the gravestones and over to the Egyptian, sitting down beside him.

"What did he say?" Anubis asked, his hand finding Nico's and stroking it with his thumb.

The demigod leaned his head on the god's shoulder, "I'm done. No more tasks."

Anubis hummed and tilted his head down to kiss Nico.

The son of Hades smiled and cupped the god's neck, drawing him in and kissing back. He sighed against the other's lips and pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"So, what now?" he asked, studying Anubis' face.

The god stroked his cheeks, "Well, I'd hope you'd stay with me."

Nico raised an eyebrow, "As your boyfriend?"

Anubis laughed, "I was thinking more about still doing things with me, but that works as well."

The demigod smiled and kissed his now boyfriend, "What do you want to do?"

The Egyptian thought it over, "There are some people who should have travelled to the underworld but haven't. Would you want to help me look for them and send them on their way?"

Nico pressed his lips against Anubis', "I'd love to help you."

The Lord of Funerals smiled at him.

* * *

So, this is the end. I hope you all liked it, even though it took me forever to finish it.

Thank you to all my loyal readers who have urged me on to continue with this story and not let it collect dust forever, you are the best and I love you all :)


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